So Far
by shibboleth28
Summary: Five years after graduating from Hearst, Veronica and Logan run into each other and begin to rebuild the relationship they had. Appearances by other characters as well. LoVe AN: I don't own Veronica Mars or any of the characters.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: First, I don't own anything associated with _Veronica Mars_...if , this turned out to be a pretty fluffy piece. There are some conflicts, but most of it is pretty happy stuff, so consider yourself warned. Third, this is dedicate to E.N.D. because she encouraged me to post it._

* * *

Logan stood somewhat awkwardly in the living room. He shifted his feet as he looked around. It was exactly the kind of place he would have expected her to live. It had high loft ceilings with exposed pipes running overhead. The walls were bare brick. It was eclectically furnished and black and white photographs, hers he assumed, hung from the walls.

After he finished his scan of the room, he began feel somewhat anxious. He crossed to her bookshelf to study the titles, calming himself. They were grouped by author, but seemed to have no other organizational system.

His own shelves were organized by genre and then alphabetized by author within those genres. A sure sign of a sociopath he had been told by people. People who didn't understand why he laughed, people who didn't know his father.

As he continued to skim the titles, an all too familiar one caught his eye, _A Stone's Throw _by L.E. Lester. He ran his finger down the spine. He smiled to himself and pulled the book from the shelf.

"Sorry about that, Logan," Veronica reemerged from her bedroom. She had gotten a call from the office, an emergency. Though it had turned out to be nothing. She smiled at him. They both seemed to be thinking back on how they'd ended up here.

_Veronica had been in a terrible meeting. She loved her job, but when the business end prevented the justice side of it, she got fed up. She had been rushing downstairs for a cup of coffee from around the corner before heading out into the field. In her rush, she had literally run into him. _

_Logan had been walking down the street somewhat lost. It was his first week living in San Francisco, and he couldn't find the bookstore he was supposed to be at in, damn it, five minutes. He looked at the note he'd put in his phone again_, Books Inc. on Van Ness near Golden Gate Avenue._ He knew he shouldn't have been reading and walking as a short blonde woman plowed into him. _

"_Oh excuse me," Veronica said hurriedly, without looking up. He was probably just another businessman who would keep on walking as if she hadn't run straight into him, and she needed her coffee badly. _

_Logan would have recognized the voice anywhere; he spun around to track where she was going. "Veronica," he called out. _

_She stopped and turned back around. "Logan? Oh my god." She hadn't seen him since their last day at Hearst 5 years earlier, but he looked exactly the same. He grinned at her, and she felt her knees go weak. Some things never do change, she figured. "What are you doing here?" she asked as he hugged her cautiously. _

"_Right now, getting lost. I just moved here, and I'm struggling to find my way around the city a bit still." He shook his head and smiled again. _

"_Where are you trying to go?" she asked. _

"_Books Inc. on Van Ness." _

"_You're going the wrong way. I'm going to grab a coffee next door to it. I'll take you." _

"_So the FBI, huh?" Logan said motioning to the building they were moving away from. _

"_Yep. Just over 4 years now." _

"_That's great. I heard you lived here. I was hoping we'd run into each other." _

_Veronica laughed. "And we did, literally." Logan laughed as well. "There it is." Veronica motioned to the bookstore. She paused, unsure how to say goodbye. "Do you want to grab a cup of coffee?" she finally asked. _

"_I'd really love to, but I am supposed to be there now." He still couldn't seem to get himself to turn away from her. "Can I take you to dinner tonight?" Then suddenly feeling very anxious, he added, "Just to catch up, I don't want to make a boyfriend upset." _

_Veronica smiled at his obvious nervousness. "I'd love that." She pulled an old receipt from her purse along with a pen and scribbled something down on it. "Here's my address, with directions," she said handing him the paper. _

"_Tonight. 7:00?" _

"_Sound good." As Logan turned to walk away, Veronica added, "And Logan…"_

"_Yeah?" _

"_I don't have a boyfriend." _

Logan was looking closely at Veronica. She had changed since he had seen her this morning. Then, she had been dressed professionally in a suit. Now, she was in a simple deep blue dress. It was making the color in her eyes pop. He suddenly wondered if wearing jeans had been a bad idea. They were nice ones, and he had on a sports jacket, so he wasn't that underdressed, but still. His nerves were being released by fidgeting with the book in his hands. Veronica's line of sight shifted down to it.

"Sorry," Logan began. "I was snooping a bit while you were on the phone."

"That's fine. I love that book," she said nodding towards the book. "Have you read it?"

Logan laughed quietly, "Yeah. A number of times." He looked at the shelf. "You don't have his newest one?"

"No, I have it. It's on my nightstand. I'm in the middle of it."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it is great. I heard a rumor he might be doing a book signing in the city, but I doubt it's true."

"Why?" Logan asked curiously.

"Because he doesn't do book signings. I'd love to get that signed though." Logan smiled and still holding the book walked towards the desk on the adjoining wall. "What are you doing?"

"Getting a pen," Logan replied with a smirk at her. "Want a personal message?" he asked setting the book on the desk and opening it to the title page.

Veronica simply stared at him in shock. "Oh my god." She walked towards him as he finished signing the book and flipped it closed. He hoped she wouldn't read it until he had gone home that night. "Logan, it's just wonderful. I mean it. That is like my favorite book." She hit his arm then, "I can't believe I didn't know."

"Hey," he said rubbing his arm. "I went the pen name route. I didn't see the Echolls name being helpful here."

"Yeah, that makes sense. Still…"

"Come on, let's go to dinner. I made reservations."

"Ohh, how fancy," Veronica teased.

"Shut up Mars. And lets go eat." Logan led her out of the apartment.

* * *

"It wasn't really my choice at all. You really just go where the Bureau sends you, especially right out of Quantico. I was lucky to end up in California. My dad would have liked it if I was in San Diego or LA, but San Francisco was a great option. It's close enough to go visit him but far enough away to get some distance from Neptune, finally." Veronica grinned at Logan across the table.

"You always did want to get away."

"Not always…" she said quietly. "How about you though? Why did you end up in San Francisco after all this time? Last I heard, you moved to New York."

"Yeah, right after college. Then I went to London for a while, Honolulu, then Sydney."

"Australia?" Veronica asked.

"Yeah, kind of the great thing about writing. You can do it anywhere."

"I guess that is true. So why here?"

"I was ready to come back to California. But, I still needed some distance."

She nodded at his answer. "Makes sense."

The waiter interrupted their conversation. "Anything else I can get the two of you?" he asked politely.

"Yeah, she'll see a dessert menu," Logan said with a smirk at Veronica.

"Of course, sir." The waiter departed.

"I hate when they call me sir," Logan said, shifting his focus back to Veronica.

"You think you know me so well, don't you?" Veronica said in mock annoyance. She, of course, wanted dessert and secretly loved that Logan still knew she would. Of all the men she had dated since college, none had really picked up on her love of food, in general, or dessert, in particular.

"I do know you. Just because I've been out of the game a few years, doesn't mean I've forgotten how to play." Logan grinned. "Besides, that's why I'm here now, to catch up."

When the waiter returned with the dessert menu, Veronica couldn't decide what she wanted. Gallantly, Logan ordered one too, and they shared. As they walked out of the restaurant, she turned and looked at him and asked, "Logan, does this seem too easy to you?"

"I think after everything, we deserve easy for once," he replied. "Come on, let me walk you home," he said putting an arm around her shoulder.

* * *

"You say it like you're shocked I'm any good. I did win that contest in high school from the Mayor's office."

"Wait, the one you plagiarized the essay for?" Veronica said mockingly. "If only your fans knew, what would they think?" Logan just laughed. "But seriously Logan, you are an amazing writer. The character of Jessie, I just love that character. She is so easy for me to relate to." She stopped at the stoop of her walkup and turned toward him.

"It doesn't shock me that you relate to her," Logan said somewhat pointedly; then he just looked down at her.

Veronica could feel herself blush. "Really?" she asked. "Me?"

"Of course. They say you should write what you know."

"Well, now I'm going to have to read it again." Veronica felt suddenly self-conscious. On a date that had gone this well, she would normally invite her date up, but this was Logan.

"Thanks for coming out with me," Logan said. He leaned down to hug her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled when he kissed her cheek.

"Thank you. It was a wonderful dinner."

"All chance, I don't know any of the restaurants yet." Logan sighed. "Maybe we can do it again?"

"Definitely, just give me a call."

Logan waited until Veronica was behind the locked door to the stairwell before he turned to try to catch a cab.

Veronica hurried upstairs and into her apartment. She fell back against her closed door and sighed. It had taken a lot of restraint to not invite Logan upstairs; even eight years after their last breakup, he was affecting her in odd ways.

She noticed the book sitting on the desk where he had left it. She crossed the room and opened the book to read what he had written. As she finished reading it, she flopped down on the couch. She had to admit, he sure could write. Scrawled on the paper in his familiar handwriting, under the signature reading _LE Lester_, was written…

_Veronica,_

_No matter the distance, you've continued to be my inspiration. _

_Love always, _

_Logan_


	2. Chapter 2

"So wait, I'm still confused. Who was the date with?" Leslie, Veronica closest friend at work, asked sitting perched on the edge of Veronica's desk.

"It wasn't a date. It was a dinner with my ex-boyfriend from back home, just to catch up," Veronica stated attempting to sound casual.

"The fugitive?"

"No." Veronica rolled her eyes. It was a big joke at work that she had an ex who was a fugitive.

"The DJ guy who moved to Seattle?"

"No. Seriously, do you remember ever guy I have ever told you about?"

"Yes. So it was either Logan Echolls or that Kyle guy you dated during your senior year."

Veronica rolled her eyes again. "It was Logan."

"And it wasn't a date? Because you have that good date glow about you."

"I do not. And there is no such thing as a good date glow, good sex maybe…"

"Was it good?" Leslie asked with a smirk.

"We didn't have sex. It wasn't a date." Veronica couldn't help the blush that she knew was rising in her cheeks just thinking about sex with Logan, which good didn't even begin to describe, and that was when he was 19.

"Okay, but this is Logan Echolls. You still compare every guy you go out with to him." Leslie had been Veronica's first friend in San Francisco. She was easily her closest friend here. Veronica still kept in touch with Mac and Wallace, but not seeing them on a regular basis, she had needed someone else to confide in.

"I know," Veronica said with a sigh. "I seriously never thought I would see him again."

"What was it like?"

"Like we hadn't gone 5 years without seeing each other. It was so comfortable and easy, something that I haven't had in a long time. Oh, and you'll never believe this. You know that book I had you read earlier this year, _A Stone's Throw_?

"Yeah. The one you harped on me to read for over a month?"

"He wrote it."

"Who wrote it? Logan Echolls did?"

"Would you stop saying his full name like that? It is weird," Veronica said with a laugh.

"So, are you going to see him again?"

"He wants to go to dinner again. It isn't like we are dating. We are just friends. I told him to call me." No sooner had the words left her mouth than Veronica's cell phone rang. She looked down at the caller ID. _Logan_ flashed on the screen.

"Is it him?" Leslie asked.

"Yes. Don't you have some work to do?" Veronica asked as she answered the phone. "Hello?" Leslie waggled her eyebrows at Veronica as she walked back to her desk.

"Hey," Logan greeted from the other end of the line. "It's me."

"Hey," Veronica replied.

"So, I was thinking maybe instead of dinner, you could help me get to know the city better this weekend. Take me to see the things I should see."

"Like the touristy stuff or the local scene?"

"Either, both, whatever," Logan replied. "I'd just like to know where it is that I'm living."

"Haven't you been here before?" Veronica asked.

"Yeah, some as a kid, but I seem to have blocked most of my childhood memories out."

"Not surprising. Okay, Saturday? We can make a day of it."

* * *

Saturday morning Veronica arrived at Logan's apartment with two cups of coffee. He answered the door with his hair still wet and disheveled from his shower. "Sorry, I'm not quite ready. I still struggle with the whole morning concept."

"No problem. Here, this might help," she said holding out one of the coffee cups.

"Definitely. Thanks." Logan took the coffee and took a sip. "Perfect. Just let me finish getting ready, 5 minutes at the most."

"That's fine. My turn to snoop then I guess," she said as he disappeared back into the bathroom.

"You'll have to unpack some boxes first," he replied with a laugh. "And feel free to do that."

Veronica didn't unpack any of the numerous boxes scattering the living room, but she did take the chance to inspect Logan's apartment. It was simpler than what she had expected. After all, the last place she had seen him living had room service. The apartment was nice but not unbelievably so. Veronica was sure it cost more per month than she made, but that was not surprising. Anyplace with an elevator and a view like this one would. She could see the Golden Gate Bridge peaking through the fog.

"Ready to go?" Logan asked from behind her.

"Oh, yeah, I was just checking out your view," she replied turning away from the window.

"Pretty nice huh?"

"Yep, bet that view ups the cost of the apartment a bit," she said.

"Definitely, but I think it is worth it. Come on, I'm ready to play tourist."

"Okay. I thought we could walk through Chinatown first, just because that is something you have to do. Then maybe go down to the wharf."

"Sounds great. Whatever you think."

With that, they headed out into the city. The trip though Chinatown was highlighted with messing around in stores that sold everything you could imagine at discount prices and posing on benches with statues of the Three Wise Monkeys.

By noon, they had walked up a few blocks to catch a cable car. Veronica was amazed at how simple it was to fall back into a comfortable pattern with Logan. They quipped back and forth effortlessly as if no time had passed.

Logan, too, noticed the ease of their renewed friendship. Though, he also knew he was lying to himself considering Veronica simply a friend. He hadn't met a woman in the last five years who could begin to hold a candle to Veronica. He also knew a friendship with her would never completely satisfy him, and Logan was sure Veronica had caught him in a few looks during the morning that indicated as much. What he wasn't sure about was how she felt about that.

Just as the thought was crossing his mind, Veronica grabbed his hand. "Come on," she said. She was leading him out into the middle of the street to an already very full cable car. She jumped up onto the running board still leading Logan behind her. She handed the conductor some bills as the cable car clambered its way up the hill. To hold on, Logan had to grab a hold partially around Veronica's waist. As they continued on the route, she leaned partially back into his chest, and he wondered if maybe she wouldn't be so opposed to his thoughts concerning their relationship.

They got off the cable car just before the turn around by Ghirardelli Square. Veronica insisted they go get lunch, so they could come back and have ice-cream sundaes.

For lunch, they went to Veronica's favorite place to get chowder. "But I thought Clam Chowder was the must eat down here?" Logan asked as Veronica explained how amazing The Blue Mermaid's famous crab and corn chowder was.

As Logan was looking at the menu intently, Veronica realized something. "Oh shit," she said. "This was like the worst restaurant to take you to. I didn't even think about it. Almost everything on the menu is shellfish."

"It's fine. I think I'll get the Ahi BLT," Logan said. "That sounds good. What are you getting?"

"Bread bowl with the crab and corn chowder. It's the best, but I wouldn't want you to suffocate just for a taste, though it might be worth it." She smirked at him. She knew she was flirting, and she knew she should think it was wrong, but she didn't.

Just then the waitress came over, "Do you know what you would like?"

"Yeah, we are ready," Logan said.

The waitress looked at Veronica who ordered her breadbowl. "And you sir?" the waitress asked.

"I'll have the Ahi BLT," he replied.

"Can you let the kitchen staff know that he is allergic to shellfish?" Veronica asked concern in her voice. "Just so they are careful."

"Of course."

After they finished lunch, true to her plan, Veronica took Logan back over to Ghirardelli Square for ice cream. They split a sundae with peanut butter and chocolate. After finishing the ice cream, Veronica bought some chocolate and they walked through the maritime park and then down through Fisherman's Wharf to Pier 39. They did some window-shopping on Pier 39 and tried on funny hats in one shop.

Before heading back home, they went back to the area near Ghirardelli and had Irish Coffees at the Buena Vista. They sat in two empty seats at a table with two other young couples. Both were visiting San Francisco. One couple was from Washington and another from Colorado. They immediately hit if off and soon they were all deep in conversation. Veronica was talking to one of the women about where they were staying. When she heard they were staying at the Argonaut Hotel, the hotel that the restaurant where she and Logan had lunch was in, Veronica mentioned that she had always wanted to stay there. Logan had smiled at her when she said that, and she wondered why. After a couple Irish coffees each, the group left the bar together. They had exchanged email addresses, wanting to keep in touch.

Logan and Veronica caught a cab, and she gave the driver her address. As they sat in the backseat, Veronica noticed Logan smiling at her again. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing, I just had a really great day. It was a lot of fun," he replied.

"I had fun, too," she admitted. "This is really easy and not at all awkward. I kind of thought it would be before we went to dinner the other night."

"We should do something again sometime soon. Maybe something less touristy."

Veronica smiled. "You are a local after all." She elbowed him in he side as she said it.

"Hey," he said, but Logan took the opportunity, while she was leaning into him, to put an arm around her shoulder. He was prepared for her to tense or move away from him, but she didn't.

Veronica was slightly shocked when Logan put his arm around her shoulders, but it seemed comfortable and right, so she leaned into his side more. He ran his hand down her upper arm. They continued to talk casually until the cab pulled up to her place. Logan leaned up to the driver telling him that he would be right back and there would be a second stop.

He got out and walked Veronica to her door. He gave her a hug before he left and told her that he would call her soon to make plans to do something else. Then with a true Logan smile he waited for her to be safely inside before he walked back to the cab to go home.


	3. Chapter 3

The next Friday after work, Veronica was in the middle of doing dishes while she was waiting for laundry to dry when her phone rang.

"Hello," she answered.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Logan's voice asked from the other end.

"Just some chores. How about you?"

"I'm bored," he said, in a half whine.

"And you called me. I'm flattered," Veronica replied sarcastically. "Go do something productive."

"Like what?" Logan asked genuinely curious.

"Go write or something," she answered. "I need something new to read anyway."

"I tried. I have writers' block. But, you finished it?" Logan asked. Last he and Veronica had talked about it, she was only halfway done with his latest book. He was nervous to hear what she thought.

"I did." She knew that her brevity would frustrate him.

"Well, what'd you think?"

"Mmmm, well…" Veronica couldn't help but smile as she heard Logan deep intake of breath through the phone. She waited just a moment more before saying, "I loved it."

"Really?" he asked. "People said it wasn't as good as the first one."

"It was different. More… controlled maybe," Veronica replied.

"My editor said it was more grownup. She made it sound like a bad thing. I remember people telling me I needed to grow up in high school."

Veronica laughed. "I guess grownup describes it. The first one was a bit more angsty I guess. More adolescent."

"I guess I just need to learn how to write better as an adult," Logan said with a sigh.

"Logan it was still wonderful. At least, I thought so," Veronica said emphatically.

"That's good enough for me. Besides, it got good reviews, all in all,"

"So be productive and get to writing," Veronica teased.

"I told you," Logan began, "writers' block."

"Then go unpack your boxes. 'Cause I would bet you haven't even started that," Veronica said, wiping the last dish dry and placing it in the cupboard.

"Well, you would lose that bet. I did start unpacking," Logan replied.

"Oh yeah? How many boxes have you unpacked? Besides your clothes." She knew Logan had unpacked his clothes even before they ran into each other the first time.

"Umm, Four."

Veronica laughed. "Logan, go unpack. You've been in that apartment for over two weeks now."

"I will, eventually. But the real reason I called…" Logan began.

"Wait, the real reason you called wasn't because you were bored?" Veronica asked with mock hurt.

"No, smartass. I was actually wondering if you wanted to go to dinner tonight. I heard about a restaurant I want to try. I know it is short notice, but…"

"Oh," Veronica paused. "Actually Logan, I can't. I have plans for tonight." She instantly felt bad. She and Logan had talked almost every day of the past week and they had been out to dinner twice. She knew she was perfectly in her right to be going out with other people, but somehow saying no to Logan felt awful.

"Oh yeah? You have a date?" Logan asked trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice. He was praying her plans were just with a friend.

"Actually, yeah." Veronica replied. She was feeling worse by the second. She was trying to figure out why this felt like telling Logan she was cheating on him.

"Well that is nice," Logan said, not thinking it was nice at all. "Is it a first date?" he asked hopefully.

"Actually, it is." Veronica wondered at Logan's interest.

"Well I hope you have a nice time," Logan said not meaning it. He certainly didn't want Veronica to have a nice date with anyone else. "Maybe we could do another night," he added.

"Sure. What about tomorrow?"

"That works for me. Meet at your place around seven?"

Alright, I'll see you then."

"Bye," Logan said, still sounding somewhat dejected.

* * *

Veronica flopped down on the couch and kicked her heels off. It had definitely not been a night worth getting dressed up for. Her date had been awful. He was rude to the waiter, self-centered, and boring. She sighed and looked at the clock on her phone, 9:27. She had spent most the night wishing that she had been out with Logan instead. She fidgeted with the phone hesitantly. Finally, she just hit the call button. By the fourth ring, she was starting to doubt her decision. He might have been out or something.

"Hey," he finally answered after the sixth ring. "Sorry it took me so long to get to the phone. I was, umm, unpacking."

Veronica could basically hear his smirk through the phone. "No problem," she replied.

"So how was the date?" he asked. He could only assume being called at 9:30 at night after her date meant it had gone badly.

"Awful," she said. "He was awful."

"Well that's because he wasn't me. You should have gone to dinner with me instead." Logan hid his seriousness behind a joking cocky tone.

"Apparently," Veronica responded. "So you are unpacking?"

"Yeah, someone kept telling me I should. My books are all unpacked and shelved. That actually took awhile."

"Because of your neurotic organizational system?" Veronica joked. Switching tones, she then asked, "Could you, maybe, use a break?"

"Maaaaybe. What kind of break?"

"Mmm, an ice cream break?"

"Most definitely. Meet you at that place down the street from your apartment in 15 minutes?"

"Perfect," Veronica couldn't help but smile. Logan always knew just what she needed, and he was willing to give it. She was starting to think maybe the whole problem with their relationship in the past had been that they were just too young.

When Veronica turned the corner, she could already see Logan leaning against the wall in front of the ice cream shop. He was wearing somewhat worn jeans and a gray t-shirt with a black jacket thrown over the top. His hair looked a bit tussled like he had been running his hands through it. He smiled at her as she walked towards him.

Logan had been thrilled to get Veronica's phone call. His unpacking had been taking him twice as long because he was distracted by his imagination's fixation on her date. Now he grinned as she walked towards him smiling. She had changed out of her date clothes and into jeans with an old Hearst sweatshirt and tennis shoes. Logan thought it was amazing how beautiful she could look in anything.

"Hey there," he greeted her with a hug. "So good ice cream is the cure for a bad date, right?"

"Most definitely," she said bumping him in the side with her shoulder as they walked inside.

As they waited in line to order their ice cream, Logan asked about Veronica's date. "It was just bad. He kept snapping at the waiter, and all he talked about was himself. He wasn't even that interesting. He works in a bank. I know waayy too much about banking now."

"That's lame." Logan said turning towards Veronica as they were handed their ice cream. "Do you want to walk and eat these?"

"Sure that sounds good. So you want to know the worst part about the date?"

"What's that?"

"After all of that, he didn't even pay for the whole dinner. He insisted we go dutch on it." She honestly didn't mind splitting the price of a meal, but the way her date had insisted that he wasn't paying had been insulting. Plus, she felt the reward for a bad date should at least be free dinner.

Logan rolled his eyes. He always paid for dinner, even when it was a friendly dinner with Veronica. Given he had the money, but he truly believed every man should pay for dinner, at least on the first date. "He sounds like a jerk."

"He was," Veronica affirmed before leaning over and tasting Logan's ice cream.

"Hey," he said. "That's mine." Veronica just laughed. "Give me a taste of yours now," Logan said. "It's only fair."

"I don't think so," Veronica said holding it away from him. Logan reached for the ice cream, but Veronica switched it to her other hand and spun away from him.

"You're kidding right?" Logan said with a laugh. He reached out with his arm that he was not holding his ice cream with and grabbed Veronica around the waist. "You are way too small to be able to keep that away from me."

"You know I am an FBI agent. I could utilize some of my very useful combat training right now," Veronica said with a smirk up at Logan. Though, she had no intention of doing anything to force Logan to let her go. His arm around her felt perfect, and she was getting butterflies in her stomach, which she hadn't felt with any guy since Logan.

"Somehow I don't think you will though," Logan said. He shifted her just enough to be able to reach down with his mouth and take a lick of her ice cream. "Mmm, that's good." He grinned at her.

Veronica shook her head. "Alright, you got your taste."

Logan grinned at her. Veronica was surprised when he didn't remove his arm from around her, but instead, only moved it to her shoulder as they continued their walk back to her apartment.

They had both finished their ice cream when they reached her front stoop. "Do you want to come up? We could watch a movie or something," Veronica suggested as they both stood awkwardly on the steps.

"Sure," Logan replied. He definitely was not ready to leave Veronica tonight.

When they got inside her apartment, Veronica motioned to her bookshelves. "There are some movies over there if you want to pick one out. Would you like some wine?"

"Sure. What kind of movie are you in the mood for?"

"Anything is fine. Red or white?"

"Red, if it's not any trouble."

Logan shifted through the DVDs before settling on _To Catch a Thief_. He pulled it off the shelf. As he was turning toward the TV, he noticed one of Veronica's photographs hanging out the wall. It was an artistically grainy black and white of Backup on the beach. He assumed by her old apartment in Neptune. Logan realized he had actually been surprised at the absence of a dog in Veronica's life.

Veronica came out of the kitchen carrying two glasses of red wine. "Pinot Noir", she said. "I hope that is okay."

"Great, thanks," Logan said taking the glass. "This is a great picture," he said motioning to the photograph.

"Thanks, I took it a few years ago back in Neptune."

"So Backup still lives with your dad? I can't imagine it was easy for you to leave him."

"He did," Veronica said. "He actually died a couple years ago." She looked at the photograph sadly.

"Oh Veronica, I'm so sorry." Logan ran and hand over her shoulder and down her upper arm. "He was a great dog. I know how much you loved him."

"Thanks. I've actually been thinking about getting a dog, but I'd feel a bit guilty having one in the apartment."

"Yeah, I understand that." Logan changed the subject asking, "Movie?" and holding up the DVD.

"Good choice," Veronica said. "You can never go wrong with Hitchcock."

"My thoughts exactly." Veronica took the DVD from Logan, and he sat down on the couch while she put it in the DVD player before joining him.

* * *

They were finishing their second glass of wine each when Veronica said, "It doesn't matter how many times I see this movie, this part still makes me nervous." They watched the screen as Cary Grant climbed on the rooftop of a French villa.

"Even though you know what's going to happen?" Logan questioned.

"Yep." At some point during the movie, they're respective sides of the couch had been abandoned, and Veronica was now nestled into Logan's side, his arm around her shoulders. "I love Grace Kelly," Veronica said. "She is so poised."

"You just like her because she was a princess," Logan said with a laugh.

Veronica laughed. "Well that would be nice. I bet I could have a pony if I were a princess." Logan just laughed in response.

"You know what?" Logan posed. "Their relationship kind of reminds me of ours. Just slightly more composed arguing." He gestured at the screen where Cary Grant and Grace Kelly were in a fiery argument highlighting the budding romance.

"Ours now? Or before?" Veronica asked sitting up just slightly.

"Before. She never listens to him when he warns her to be careful, and she suspects he is a criminal." He smirked at her. "Sound familiar?"

"Har har," Veronica said. "And to be fair, he was a criminal." She paused for a moment, and then glancing up at him, she said, "Logan, I'm sorry I never trusted you as much as you deserved. It wasn't fair."

"I didn't always behave in a way deserving of it," Logan admitted. "Plus we were young," he added squeezing her tighter and pressing a light kiss to the top of her head.

* * *

Veronica found herself blinking awake to the screensaver of her DVD player projected on the TV. She was using Logan as a pillow, and his arms were wrapped tightly around her. They had both slid down on the couch, so they were lying down; Logan's legs were propped up on the coffee table, and Veronica's were curled on the couch.

Veronica felt Logan stir beneath her. She suddenly became very aware that if he knew she was awake, they would have to have a conversation about him going home. That realization led to another: she didn't want him to go home. This felt right.

Logan woke up slowly. He smiled when he looked down and saw Veronica cuddled against his side, her head on his chest. They had fallen asleep before the end of the movie. He had noticed Veronica drift off. He was actually surprised he had, as well, but there was something about being with Veronica again that put him at ease. He just watched her for a moment. She looked so beautiful. He gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Her eyes fluttered.

Veronica had lost her battle to pretend she was asleep. As Logan had tucked the hair behind her ear, she had needed to look at him. It had just been an urge. She smiled up at him. Giving in, she sat up. "Guess I fell asleep," she said.

"Yeah, I did too," Logan added. He glanced at his watch as he sat up, also. It was well after midnight. "The movie must have ended awhile ago," he said. "I guess I should get going." Even as the words came out of his mouth, Logan knew he didn't want to go home.

"Yeah," Veronica agreed.

Logan stood up, "Do you still want to do dinner tomorrow, or I guess it would be tonight now?"

"Yeah, it still sounds good to me," Veronica agreed.

"Alright, I'll see you tonight then," Logan said with a smile as he began to open her door. He gave Veronica a hug and said, "Night Veronica."

"Goodnight Logan."


	4. Chapter 4

Saturday morning Veronica had gone to the market, where she had picked up some produce she was now placing in her refrigerator. As she closed the door her eye fell on to her calendar. "Damn it," she muttered to herself as she read the note written on the calendar under the current date. She sighed and pulled her phone from her pocket. She had totally spaced on her plans.

"Hello," Logan answered the phone sounding a bit groggy.

Veronica glanced at the clock on the microwave. 11:07. Leave it to Logan to still be able to sleep past 11 at twenty-seven years old. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to wake you," Veronica said.

"Veronica, hey. No problem. I should probably be awake anyway. What time is it?"

"About 11:10."

"Definitely should be awake," Logan replied. He didn't mention that it had taken him a good while to fall asleep once he had gotten home, his mind racing with thoughts of Veronica. "So what's up? Miss me already?" he joked.

Veronica laughed. "No." She took a deep breath. "I, umm, I can't go to dinner." She felt terrible bailing on Logan, but these plans had been put into place weeks ago.

"Oh, okay." Logan sounded completely dejected. "Is everything okay?" He was hoping that it wasn't her having doubts about them. He knew there was no way that Veronica hadn't felt at least some of what he had the night before. It had felt like when they had been dating, when it had been good.

"Yeah. Everything is fine. I just forgot that I had plans to go out with some friends tonight. We do it a couple times a month. Just drinks and hanging out," Veronica explained. "Actually, you could join us if you want." She hadn't intended to invite him when she had called, but she had realized that she was disappointed to be cancelling plans with him.

"Are you sure?" Logan asked. He didn't want to intrude.

Veronica knew it wouldn't be a problem with anyone else. After all, people brought dates, significant others, friends, and family with them to these outings all the time. In fact, a few of her friends had been insisting on wanting to meet the famous Logan Echolls since hearing of his reappearance in her life.

"It's not a problem at all. You are totally welcome," Veronica explained. "It is a really open kind of thing. People bring other people all the time."

"All right," Logan said. "Sounds like fun."

"You should be prepared," Veronica warned, "a number of my friends have been asking to meet you. They might be a little nosy."

Logan laughed. "Uh oh. I'll be on guard. So where should I meet you?"

* * *

Logan was waiting on Veronica's stoop. He had buzzed up, and she told him she was on her way down rather than buzzing him in. He glanced down at his outfit one last time, still unsure. Though, it was too late to do anything about it now. Veronica had said they were going to a nice bar, so he had dressed up a bit. He was wearing black slacks, a white shirt without a tie, and a grey suit jacket.

The moment he saw Veronica, he was sure he wasn't over dressed. She was wearing a strapless black dress. Her heels, also black, looked vintage, and knowing Veronica, they probably were. Her hair was slightly curly and pulled back into a low ponytail. The finishing touch of the outfit was a matching necklace and earring set with small red stones. The outfit reminded Logan of something, but he couldn't quite place it.

"Wow," Logan said as she came out of the door. "You look… wow."

"Thanks, not so bad yourself."

"I aim to please," Logan replied with a smile. "Ready to go? Do we need a cab?"

"No, it's close enough we can walk," Veronica said.

"Alright, then off we go." Logan offered her his arm, which Veronica took with a laugh.

As they were walking into the bar Veronica pulled something from her purse. "Here I brought this for you. You may need it." She handed Logan a pen.

"What's this for?" he asked puzzled.

"Apparently, some of them are bringing copies of your books. I guess the news spread pretty quickly though the group that I was bringing you."

"Suddenly, I'm not sure I am up to meeting your friends," Logan said with mock terror in his voice.

"Well get ready partner. They are right over there," Veronica said in accent and gestured to a group of seven people standing at two tall tables near the bar.

Logan took a deep breath. He had been joking with Veronica, but he was slightly nervous to meet her friends. In the past, he hadn't always been the most popular. He followed her over to the group where she was hugging a few people.

"Everyone, this is Logan," she said pulling him closer to the group. "Logan, this is Leslie, she is my friend from work. This is her husband Jack. This is Holly, she is Jack's sister. This is Susan. She, Leslie and I go to the same gym."

"Some of us more than others," Susan said with a pointed look at Veronica as she shook Logan's hand.

"This is Mike. He also works with Leslie and I. His wife Juliana. And this is Jeremy. He originally came as Mike's friend, but we have all adopted him now."

"Thanks V," Jeremy said. Then shaking Logan's hand he asked, "Did you get all that? They quiz you at the end." Logan laughed. "You think I'm joking. They made me buy a round for each name I forgot."

"The only ones you got right were Mike and Juliana," Holly said with a laugh. "You called me Annie."

"What can I say? I'm bad with names," Jeremy defended himself.

"I was on my way to the bar," Mike stated. "Veronica, Logan, can I get you something to drink?"

"I'll have a beer," Veronica said. "Whatever is good on tap." They were at a great little brewpub, which always had a great selection.

As other people started to make requests, Logan said, "I'll go with you. That's a lot of drinks to carry."

Logan and Mike made their way to the bar, and the women all surrounded Veronica as Jeremy and Jack focused on the Giants away game projected on the TV screens.

"Wow, you certainly were not exaggerating when you said he was cute," Leslie said throwing a glance at Logan.

"So, what is going on with the two of you?" Holly asked.

"Nothing," Veronica said not totally sure she was being honest.

"Really? 'Cause that looked suspiciously like a blush," Juliana added.

"Fine, I don't know. We, uhh, we fell asleep together on my couch while watching a movie last night," she admitted.

"And…?" Holly asked.

"And nothing. We woke up, and he went home."

"Didn't you have a date last night?" Leslie asked.

"Yes. It was atrocious. Logan and I went for ice-cream after," Veronica replied quickly. She wanted desperately not to be having this conversation. This wasn't how she really wanted to work through her thoughts about Logan.

Luckily for her, Logan and Mike reappeared with everyone's drinks, and the conversation drifted back to a whole group focus. The Giants game on TV took a lot of the focus throughout the night, and everyone had a great time. Logan instantly felt comfortable with the group. Veronica never strayed too far from him, which helped with his comfort level. He and Mike hit it off pretty well, and he did end up signing a couple copies of his novels. When the game finally ended, Holly suggested the move to a bar down the street that had some dancing.

While they were walking down the block, Logan said, "So how does your dad feel about you routing for the Giants?"

"He doesn't know. And you better not tell him," she said with a slight threatening gesture. Logan laughed.

The bar they had moved onto seemed to be a regular place for the group; they even knew the bartender by name. Apparently, the draw of the place was that they had a dance floor, but it was more like a neighborhood bar than a nightclub.

The gang started out at the bar where Logan was introduced to Jason, the bartender, who Logan was pretty sure had the hots for Veronica. Logan ended up talking to Jeremy for a while, while the girls were all out dancing. Jeremy was fascinated by Logan's childhood and asked him question after question. At first, Logan didn't mind so much, but eventually, it got to the point where he just didn't want to talk about it anymore. He could feel himself getting emotional as Jeremy asked questions about his mother.

Veronica glanced at Logan as she and the rest of the girls rejoined the guys at the bar. Leslie and Juliana had insisted it was girl dance time and none of the guys, husbands included, were welcome on the dance floor. Veronica had been nervous about leaving Logan alone, but he had seemed to fit in so well she ignored her concerns. Now that she was back from dancing, she could tell he wasn't doing as well. He was talking to Jeremy and had this uncomfortable nervous look on his face. She moved closer and heard Jeremy asked, "So did your mom leave a lot to make movies too?"

"Well, you know, not as much as my dad. But really since we lived in Southern California, for a lot of movies they never went on location." Logan seemed to be answering the questions casually, but Veronica noticed Logan's discomfort increase. She assumed talking about his parents was still exceptionally hard.

"Hey Jeremy, mind if I steal Logan for a bit," Veronica asked walking up to the two guys.

"Uh, yeah, no problem." Jeremy turned to talk to Mike as Veronica grabbed Logan's hand. "Want to dance with me?" she asked.

"Always," Logan replied and let her lead him onto the dance floor.

"Are you okay?" Veronica asked as they walked towards the dance floor. "Jeremy doesn't always have much tact."

"I'm fine," he replied casually. When Veronica gave him a knowing look, he added, "It's still hard to talk about my family."

Veronica nodded understandingly as a slow song began to play. She smiled recognizing the song.

_Live a life less ordinary__  
__Live a life extraordinary with me__  
__Live a life less sedentary__  
__Live a life evolutionary with me_

Logan had wrapped his arms around Veronica's waist and pulled her close. He was listening closely to the lyrics and couldn't help but smile. A life with Veronica certainly had always fit that bill. There was nothing ordinary about her.

_Well I hate to be a bother,__  
__But it's you and there's no other, I do believe__  
__You can call me naive but...__  
__I know me very well (at least as far as I can tell)__  
__And I know what I need__  
_

Veronica gripped Logan's shoulders tighter and rested her head against his chest. The song was definitely bringing some of her thoughts on Logan up. Even before he had moved to San Francisco, she had started to wonder if there was anyone else she could be happy with besides Logan. Now, with him back in her life, she was fairly certain the answer was no.

_The night you came into my life__  
__Well it took the bones of me, took the bones of me__  
__You blew away my storm and strife__  
__And shook the bones of me, shook the bones of me__  
__By the way, I do know why you stayed away... __  
__I will keep tongue-tied next time__  
_

Logan ran his hands along Veronica's back, pulling her closer to him. Her head was resting on his chest and he let his chin rest on top of her head. He whispered to her, "You know, I'm really sorry about everything I ever did to hurt you Veronica,"

_Live a life less ordinary__  
__Live a life extraordinary with me__  
__My face had said too much__  
__Before our hands could even touch__  
__To greet a 'hello'__  
__(So much for going slow...)_

Veronica almost burst into tears at Logan's confession. "Oh, Logan," she said pulling her head up and looking at him, "I'm sorry." She didn't even know how to begin to apologize to Logan. "I should never have made you feel like you needed to apologize so much. I set standards for you that nobody could have met. I don't know why, maybe I was scared."

_A little later on that year__  
__I told you that I loved you dear__  
__What do you know?__  
__This you weren't prepared to hear__  
__I'm a saddened man, I'm a broken boy__  
__I'm a toddler with a complex toy__  
__I've fallen apart, since the ambush of your heart__  
_

Logan's mind filled with memories from high school and college, memories with Veronica, both the good and the bad. "I think we both share the burden of fault here," Logan said with a small smile down at her. "I know I was stupid a lot, but I always loved you."

Veronica smiled at his confession. "Me too, even if I wasn't great about saying it." Logan smiled at her. Veronica found herself recognizing the look on his face even after eight years. Logan was going to kiss her. Her initial instinct was to run. Then she thought of all the times she had run away from this look and thought of what might have been if she hadn't.

Logan reached his hand out and gently tucked a loose curl of Veronica's hair behind her ear. When Veronica didn't pull away, he bent down and gently pressed his lips to hers. When Veronica still didn't pull away, he deepened the kiss a bit angling his head to the side slightly. Veronica's hands slowly moved from his shoulders to the back of his neck.

* * *

The song is "Life Less Ordinary" by Carbon Leaf.


	5. Chapter 5

Veronica could almost feel her knees going weak as Logan kissed her. She was suddenly grateful for the tight grip he had around her waist. As they broke the kiss, she couldn't help but glance at her friends at the bar. She was preparing to be harassed by Leslie when they rejoined the group. Everyone seemed completely oblivious to her and Logan.

Logan had noticed Veronica's glance toward her friends, but he ignored it. As her focus came back to him, he bent down a pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek. She smiled up at him. As they made their way back to the bar, Logan reached down and took Veronica's hand.

After another twenty minutes or so, the group decided to head home. They walked out of the bar. Logan was still holding Veronica's hand; he only let go to allow them to say goodbye to the others.

As she hugged Leslie goodbye, she whispered in Veronica's ear, "You better tell me everything at work on Monday."

Everyone divided up and headed home. A few sharing a cab, others walking. Logan and Veronica began walking back toward both of their apartments. Logan, somewhat hesitantly, reached for Veronica's hand again. She laced her fingers with his, attempting to let him know she was welcoming the contact.

Veronica shivered as they walked. She had put on a simple black cardigan when they left the bar. It might have been July, but San Francisco was still dropping to the mid fifties at night. Logan had noticed Veronica shiver and quickly shrugged off his jacket then draped it over her shoulders.

"Thanks," she said leaning into his side as he wrapped an arm around her.

"No problem. It is colder than London here."

"So, umm…" Veronica was at a total loss for what to say as she and Logan reached her apartment building. Logan leaned down and pressed a simple, chaste kiss to her lips.

"Thanks for including me tonight," he said. "I really enjoyed meeting your friends and you know, being a part of your life and all."

"Do you want to come up?" Veronica asked quickly. She almost feared she would lose the nerve to ask, and Logan's comment had made her heart flutter. Leslie had been right. She had been comparing guys to Logan for over five years, and now he was right in front of her saying all the right things. As many problems as they had had in the past, she was pretty sure it was worth a risk.

"Thought you'd never ask," Logan replied with a smirk. He followed her up the stairs. Logan was debating whether to allow a pretense of a nightcap as Veronica mentioned that she thought she had a bottle of wine they could open. It wasn't too late yet, but as Logan followed her in to the apartment and watched her set her purse on the small table by the door, he decided he couldn't wait.

He grabbed Veronica around the waist and pulled her into a passionate embrace. As they kissed he spun her against the wall, their backs taking turns being pressed against the bricks.

Veronica laughed gently into the kisses. Logan pulled back just a breath, keeping his arms around her. Veronica said, "I've missed that, the spinning. Never known anyone else to do that but you."

"That's cause I patented it," Logan whispered against Veronica's neck where he was now kissing her. "Didn't you know?" Veronica began to laugh and then had to catch her breath as Logan found a particularly sensitive spot on her neck. Logan continued to kiss her neck as he backed her into the bedroom. He stopped when the back of her knees hit the bed.

Veronica felt Logan pull away slightly. His arms were still around her, but he was now looking at her carefully, some space between them. He brought a hand from around her and tucked some hair behind her ear before kissing her cheek and then her lips tenderly. Veronica smiled at him as she began to unbutton his shirt and let it fall to the floor. Logan in turn removed Veronica's cardigan and trailed kisses over her bare shoulders as she worked his undershirt out of the waistband of his pants to remove it.

"Your outfit tonight kept reminding me of something, and I finally figured out what it was," Logan said breathily as Veronica kissed his chest while also unbuttoning his pants.

"Hmmm?" she questioned the kissing moving to his neck and just below his ear.

"Alterna-prom," he said quietly. "You wore a strapless black dress to that too. And your hair was the same." As if to illustrate, he ran his hand over the ponytail lying against her back.

"How do you remember that?" Veronica asked now looking up into Logan's eyes.

"I remember a lot," Logan said. "About you at least," he added. Veronica let out a half laugh, half breath and buried her head in Logan's shoulder. "Too cheesy?" he asked.

"A bit," she said biting her bottom lip and smiling slightly. Logan kissed her again gently at first, but as the passion increased, her dress and his pants joined the rest of their clothing on the floor.

* * *

Logan woke up during the night to an empty bed. His first thought was that Veronica had left until he realized they were in her apartment, so that was unlikely. He began to sit up as Veronica came back into the bedroom carrying a glass of water. She was wearing the white t-shirt Logan had worn as an undershirt that night. She stopped when she saw Logan staring at her. "What?" she asked.

Logan smiled. "You look beautiful," he replied. "Particularly in my shirt." He raised his eyebrows insinuatingly.

"I was cold when I woke up," she explained as she glanced down at the shirt before crawling back into bed next to him and setting the glass on the nightstand.

"I like it." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him as he lay down. They lay like that for a while. Veronica's head rested on Logan's chest; he absent-mindedly ran his fingers through the ponytail of Veronica's hair.

"Logan?" Veronica questioned after a couple minutes. She had been lost in thought.

"Mmm, hmmm?" he responded running his hand down her upper back now.

"Do you think…" she trailed off worried that her question would come across wrong.

"Veronica, what is it?" Logan asked bringing his hand to her face and lifting her chin with his index finger, so she was looking at him.

Veronica repositioned herself so her forearms were now resting, crossed on Logan's chest, her chin resting on her arms. She kept eye contact as she asked, "Are we maybe going a bit fast here?"

Logan let out a half laugh. "Veronica we started dating over ten years ago. How much slower could we go?"

Veronica rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. We just kind of fell back into this. Which is what we have always done in the past. It just... I don't know." Veronica trailed off again. She knew she wasn't being clear.

Logan lifted his head slightly and gave Veronica a peck on the lips. She responded, but when he pulled back, her look said, _this conversation isn't finished_. Logan smiled at her and wrapped his arms around her clasping them together against the small of her back. "You're right, in the past, we have tended to just fall back into _us_," Logan said placing an emphasis on the word. "But, don't you think the fact that we aren't teenagers anymore might change things?" Veronica seemed to be considering this as Logan continued. "I mean, I have no plans to run off to Mexico for the weekend when things get a bit difficult." Logan offered up his classic smirk, which seemed to have not changed since they were teenagers.

Veronica smiled back. "That's true," she said. "And, I have no intention to trace your cell phone to hunt you down."

"See, that's exactly what I meant." Logan paused for a moment before asking, "Veronica, why am I here now?"

"Because you kissed me," Veronica said with a smile.

"Do you sleep with every guy who kisses you? Because that could be a problem," Logan joked, but then, he turned quite serious. "Really, Veronica, why did you invite me up?"

Veronica thought for a moment. She knew why she had invited Logan up. The question was if she was ready to be honest with Logan about it. Not confident enough to bare it all, she said simply, "Because you're you." This seemed to be answer enough for Logan, who leaned up to kiss her again. "Why did you come up?"

"Because you're you." When he kissed her again, Veronica assumed that was all the answer she was going to get, but when Logan leaned his head back he continued. "I have spent the past five years all around the world. No matter where I went, I never stopped thinking about you. I meant what I wrote in your book." Logan now would have been staring at the ceiling, had his eyes been open.

Veronica buried her face in her arms for a moment, which were still crossed together on Logan's chest. She moved her arms and readjusted herself so her head was once again resting on Logan's chest and she was positioned perfectly in the crook of his shoulder, his arms still wrapped around her. She hadn't known what to say, so she opted for saying nothing.

Logan was content just falling asleep with Veronica in his arms. He didn't need her to say anything. But, just as he was starting to drift off, she said, "You remember that day in the food court, the end of freshman year?"

"Yeah," Logan whispered. There was only one day she could have been talking about.

"I wish I had followed you out. I wanted to, but I stopped myself," she confessed quietly.

"I wanted you to, too," Logan said equally quietly and kissed the top of her head.

* * *

"So are you going to tell me what happened or am I going to have to shake it out of you," Leslie asked as she and Veronica were walking to get coffee on Monday after Veronica had returned from being in the field.

Veronica gave her a look, and when Leslie just continued to stare at her, she replied, "Alright fine, what do you want to know?"

"Mmmm, everything?" Leslie said. Veronica was getting a feeling like being in high school again, but she couldn't help but smile thinking about her night with Logan. "Well, that smile says a lot," Leslie added as they went up to the counter to order coffee.

Veronica laughed while Leslie put in her order and then ordered her own coffee. As they stood waiting, Leslie said, "So what happened after you and Logan left the bar?"

"He walked me home, like he always does," Veronica replied casually. She knew she was driving Leslie crazy, which was half the fun.

"And…?" Leslie said in mock exasperation.

"He kissed me goodnight on my stoop, and…" Veronica trailed off as she grabbed her coffee from the counter. When she turned back to Leslie, she was still staring at her. "And I invited him up," Veronica finished.

Leslie couldn't help grinning. The look on Veronica's face told her all she needed to know. Veronica was one of her best friends, and she wanted to see her happy. She had known Veronica well for four years, and she never seemed to be happy with anyone she had dated. After each break-up, stories of Logan peppered Veronica's conversations more than usual. Before Leslie had even met Logan, she had known that Veronica was still harboring feelings for him. After seeing him with her friend Saturday night, she could assert that the feeling was mutual. "And how was it?" she asked.

Veronica smiled and bit her bottom lip blushing slightly.

"That good?" Leslie said as they walked out of the coffee shop and back toward the FBI building.

"Yeah," Veronica said. She felt a bit more comfortable talking being out of the coffee shop. "It was exceptionally good when he was 19. And, he definitely has improved with age."

"So what happened after that?" Leslie asked.

"We slept and then talked some; then we slept some more."

"And yesterday?"

"We slept in, ate breakfast in bed, had more sex. You know, the usual," Veronica responded with a smirk.

"Are you going to see him tonight?" Leslie asked as they walked back through the doors of the FBI building.

"I don't know. We actually didn't make any plans," Veronica replied as they got into the elevator.

"I'm happy for you," Leslie said. When the elevator doors opened she added, "I have to hurry. I have a meeting in ten minutes." Leslie hurried off to her meeting and Veronica walked back to her desk. She was actually working on an exceptionally difficult case. The coffee break had been much needed. Looking around, she wondered where Nathan Daniels, her current partner, had wandered off to. They had been out interviewing witnesses, and it had been a tough morning. She figured he was probably taking some kind of a break. She sat down and opened the files on her desk. Glancing at her phone, hoping for a message from Logan, before she began to read and take notes.


	6. Chapter 6

When Veronica got home that night, she was exhausted. The details of her newest case were wearing on her. She had taken a shower as soon as she got home. Once she was out, she poured herself a glass of wine and was moving to grab the phone to order takeout when the doorbell rang.

"Hello?" she asked pressing the buzzer button.

"Someone order Chinese?" a familiar voice asked.

Veronica grinned. "Nope, but come on up," she said and pressed the button unlocking the lower door.

"So are you psychic?" Veronica asked answering the door. "I was just going to order Chinese for delivery. I'm starving."

"Don't know about psychic, psychotic maybe if there is anything to genetics," Logan joked coming in at Veronica's welcoming gesture. "It seemed like a safe bet; when aren't you starving?"

"Ha ha," Veronica said. Logan cut off her impending smartass comment with a kiss.

"Ready for dinner?" he asked walking into the kitchen and setting down the bag of take-out.

"Definitely," Veronica responded, following him. "Do you want some wine or a beer or something?"

"Whatever you're having is fine," Logan replied loading food onto plates for them while Veronica poured him a glass of wine and took silverware to the table. Logan followed behind her with their plates, and they sat down. "So how was your day?" he asked as they began to eat. Logan noticed Veronica face fall instantly. He looked at her with concern.

"Umm, not great actually," she said. Her mind began to drift back to the case. She was pulled back to the present by Logan's hand on hers. He was half holding her hand with his thumb moving back and forth across the back. She looked from their hands to his face. He looked worried. "Just a tough case."

"Do you want to talk about it? I mean if you want to and can. I just mean, I can listen if you can talk about it."

Veronica smiled at Logan softly. "It's an open case, so I can't say a lot." She did want to unload this. She knew that sometimes other agents confided in family members or friends about tough cases in limited detail. She wanted that opportunity, and Logan was offering it. "So, I'm working in Violent Crimes right now. They kind of bounce you around in the beginning, so you have a feel for the different departments. I'm at the point now where I'm getting to a specialized field."

"And you want to do Violent Crimes?" Logan asked. He tried to keep any concern he felt out of his voice. He hadn't heard much about work from Veronica and wanted her to know he was willing to listen.

"That or the Civil Rights unit. I did that for a while. It is mainly cold cases and Hate Crimes investigation. Violent Crimes is more what I was aiming for when I joined the Bureau. I do like it. It can just be… hard."

"Yeah. I understand," Logan said offering Veronica the last eggroll, which she took.

"Anyway, we spent the morning interviewing witnesses and people who knew our victim. The case is a rape and murder of a college girl. They think the murderer committed a similar crime in Nevada, which is why it fell to us." Veronica looked up from her food and at Logan, who had a look of concern on his face. "Logan, I'm fine."

"Yeah, of course," Logan said with an attempt at a smile. He took a bite of his fried rice. "I just, well, you know."

Veronica actually had no idea what the "you know" was supposed to be, but it seemed better to let this one lie. "This isn't the first rape case I've handled Logan. Don't worry about me."

"No-go on that one. I've always worried about you, probably always will."

Veronica offered Logan a small smile in return to the one he gave when he said that. She was now able to accept Logan's concern much as she did her father's. She no longer viewed it as a lack of faith, but simply as caring for her. "Yeah."

Their conversation died down a bit as they continued to eat. After a period of silence, when they had finished eating, Logan asked, "Veronica, was it okay I came over tonight?"

"Yeah, of course," she responded.

"I didn't know if not calling was okay, but your apartment was on my way home from a meeting, so…" Logan trailed off as Veronica leaned across the table and kissed him.

"I'm glad you came over," she said as she pulled back just a breath. Logan pulled her back to him and kissed her more deeply. She stood up partially from her seat and moved to sit on his lap. Logan pushed his chair back from the table making room for her to slide between him and the table. After a few moments of intensely making out, Veronica said, "Maybe we should clean up the dishes."

"Later," Logan responded as he pulled her back to him. After another moment, Veronica had determined that not only was dinner not getting clean up, but also they probably weren't even going to be making it to the bedroom.

* * *

Veronica had been partially right. She and Logan hadn't made it to the bedroom, but the dishes had gotten cleaned up afterwards. They were now sitting on her couch finishing off another glass of wine each. A movie was playing on the TV, but neither of them was watching it. Veronica looked at the clock; it was just after 10:30. "It's getting late," she said.

"Yeah, you have to get up early," Logan said.

Veronica finished the last of her wine. "Are you staying?" she asked Logan, who had also stood up.

Logan was slightly shocked by Veronica's question. He had been preparing to leave. It never occurred to him that he would be invited to stay the night. It was one thing to sleep over after sex, and while they had sex earlier that evening, it hadn't been in the situation that usually granted one the right to sleep over. "Sure, that is if you want me to," he replied.

"Yeah, stay. That is if you don't mind the 6:00am alarm."

"I think I can handle it." Logan smiled.

Logan followed Veronica into the bedroom. She disappeared into the bathroom for a bit while Logan removed his jeans and shirts and slipped into the bed on what he had determined on Saturday night not to be Veronica's side. When Veronica reemerged from the bathroom, she had pulled her hair into a ponytail and was wearing a slightly oversized t-shirt, which barely covered the top of her thighs. She turned off the overhead light at the switch by the door plunging the room into darkness except for a slight glow through the curtains from the streetlight outside.

Veronica crawled into bed and immediately felt Logan's arms surround her. She smiled as he pressed a gentle kiss to her temple. As she curled onto her side, Logan nestled up behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist. When he spoke, it was a whisper against the back of her neck. "Can I take you to dinner tomorrow night?"

Veronica smiled again. Taking a hold of Logan's hand, where it rested near her stomach, she replied, "Yeah."

They talked for a while before they began to drift off to sleep. As Veronica was beginning to doze off, it occurred to her that she hadn't fallen asleep with a guy, without having just had sex, in years. There was a certain level of intimacy in it, which felt wonderful.

Veronica slept better that night than usual. It was normal for her to wake up two or three times during the night. However, that night she slept straight through, waking up a few minutes before her alarm was set to go off. She turned the alarm clock off before it had the chance to wake Logan. She turned slightly to look at him. He had stretched out during the night and was now sleeping on his stomach, one arm above his head and the other still wrapped loosely around Veronica's waist. She smiled at his appearance. To her, Logan always looked more innocent when he slept, the shell he wore during the day vanished. Age hadn't changed that fact. She gently ran a hand through his hair and kissed his cheek before sliding out of bed for her shower.

Logan was still asleep when Veronica reentered the bedroom ready for work. She sat down on the edge of the bed next to him. "Logan," she said running a hand through his hair, "I need to leave for work."

"Mmm," Logan groaned stretching and turning his head to look at Veronica.

"I have to go to work," she repeated.

"Yeah, I'm getting up," he mumbled. He started to sit up.

Veronica stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Stay," she said. "Just lock the door when you leave. I made coffee." She hadn't intended to tell Logan to stay, but he had sounded so sleepy and looked so cute in his half-awake state.

"Are you sure?" Logan asked. He was partially sitting up now. He took a hold of one of Veronica's hands.

"Yeah. It is fine." Veronica leaned down and kissed Logan on the lips. "I'll see you later."

"We're still on for dinner, right?"

Veronica smiled at him. She had forgotten about Logan's dinner invitation until he brought it up again. "Yeah. I'll see you tonight." Logan leaned up and kissed her once more before Veronica left.

* * *

By midweek two weeks later, Logan and Veronica had spent nearly every night together. Weeknights were usually spent at Veronica's since she had to work the next day; Logan was getting better with the six o'clock wake up. They had spent the majority of the weekends at Logan's apartment where Veronica had helped him finally finish unpacking. On Wednesday night, they were walking back to Veronica's from a movie.

Veronica took a deep breath. She had been meaning to tell Logan something for a few days, but she hadn't known how to breach the subject. She knew she needed to tell him now. "Umm," she began, "I have company coming into town this weekend so I won't really be able to see you."

Logan tried not to look too visibly disappointed. "Is it your dad?" he asked. He knew it must have been someone who wouldn't be pleased about his reappearance in Veronica's life for her to bring it up this way.

"No, not my dad."

"Someone else who hates me equally?"

"My dad doesn't hate you. He just, well he is protective," Veronica explained.

"If you say so," Logan said with a smirk. "So you're not telling me who is coming to visit? Is it another guy?"

"It is just an old friend," Veronica said as they reached the doorway of her apartment.

Logan had let the conversation drop. "I have a favor to ask of you," he said as they climbed the stairs.

"Yeah?" Veronica said casually as she dug around in her purse for her keys.

"It's kind of a big deal," Logan continued as Veronica opened the door. He followed her inside.

"Anything," she said noticing that Logan actually seemed nervous. "You don't need to be nervous."

"It isn't about asking you," he explained. "I agreed to do something. I was hoping you would go with me."

"That is most definitely an "it depends" situation," Veronica said with a smile sitting down on the couch.

Logan sat next to her and said, "I agreed to do a book reading and signing at Books Inc. I was hoping you'd go with me."

Veronica broke into a grin. "Logan, that is great. Of course, I'll go with you. That's so exciting."

Logan realized he was grinning, too. Veronica's enthusiasm made him feel much more confidant. "Why are you excited? You already got your book signed," he teased.

Veronica hit him in the arm. "Why are you so nervous about it? You don't strike me as the type to get stage fright."

Logan leaned his head back and looked at the ceiling. "It isn't so much that. It is more the loss of anonymity, I guess." Logan sighed. "I escaped the spotlight of being the son of a murderous movie star when I left Neptune. While the rare person still notices and asks me about it, I generally seem able to avoid that association." Logan paused and sighed again. Veronica ran a hand through his hair just above his ear comfortingly. "This is just going to be more public than I'd like I guess. I'll be telling my readers who I really am."

"Logan, I don't think it will make a difference to anyone buying your books," Veronica said.

"My publisher thought it would actually make them sell more. I fought that though. I don't want people buying my books for that reason."

"Makes sense. What made you decide to do the reading?"

"Honestly?" Logan asked. When Veronica nodded, he said, "You, actually."

"Really?" Veronica asked genuinely shocked. "Why?"

"That first night we went to dinner you said you wanted your book signed but that he, being me, didn't do book signings. Then you're friends wanting me to sign theirs. I was thinking how many other people might want their copies signed. As much as I hate to agree with anything Aaron ever said, he used to tell me to be nice to the gawking tourists who came by the house because they paid for everything."

"Yeah," Veronica said. She was sitting sideways on the couch leaning on her arm resting against the back, so she could look at Logan as he spoke.

"I guess it is kind of the same with the books. The whole point of writing is so others read it and gain something from it. I started thinking I should try to make more of a connection to the readers."

"That's logical."

"I thought maybe if you'd come with me it wouldn't be so bad."

"Of course I'll go. That isn't even a favor. I'm happy to go with you." Logan turned which allowed him to be able to kiss Veronica without even lifting his head. Veronica smiled against his lips and felt him do the same as he deepened the kiss.


	7. Chapter 7

"I'm just not sure how you'll react to it. I'm not trying to be secretive," Veronica explained. She was leading her guest into her apartment Friday evening. She had been being grilled on her love life for the entire metro ride from the airport. "We can set up the pull out when we are ready to go to bed. I figured we would want the place to sit until then," she said gesturing to the couch.

"Great. You rearranged since I was here last."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I framed some new pictures, too. I'll order dinner while you shower if you still want to do that," Veronica said.

"Definitely, I feel all grimy."

"Italian, Indian, Chinese? What would you like to eat?"

"Mmm, Indian sounds good."

"Alright, I'll leave you to it and order the food." While her guest vanished into the bathroom. Veronica ordered a variety of takeout from a nearby Indian restaurant that delivered. Then, she went to her bedroom to change out of her work clothes. When she got to the bedroom, she noticed Logan's watch sitting on the nightstand by her bed. Just as she picked it up, her phone rang. "Hey."

"Hey, did I leave…"

"Your watch here? Yeah," Veronica cut Logan off. "Did you want to come get it?" she asked uncertainly.

"No, you have company. It's fine. I just wanted to check that it was there. I searched my place for it for almost thirty minutes," Logan said. "I'll see you next week. Have a good weekend." Logan was trying to sound cheerful, but the prospect of not seeing Veronica for three days made that hard. Veronica heard the disappointment in Logan's voice. Then he added, "I'll miss you."

Veronica took a deep breath. "Logan, why don't you come over? I just ordered Indian. I pretty sure I ordered enough for at least three of us. And you can get your watch."

"Are you sure?" Logan asked. He wanted to see Veronica, but he didn't want to intrude.

"Yeah, I'd like you to," Veronica was realizing that she had just been giving into fear wanting to keep Logan away for the weekend.

"Okay. I'll be there soon."

Veronica went back to the kitchen. When she heard the bathroom door open, she asked loudly, "Beer or wine?"

"A beer sounds good."

"Also, umm the guy I've been seeing is going to come over and eat with us. I hope you don't mind."

"Are you kidding me? That is great. I can't wait to meet him."

Veronica laughed somewhat nervously as she pulled two beers from the fridge and passed one to her guest. "Lets go sit in the living room and wait for the food." They spent the next ten minutes or so catching up. Then, the doorbell rang.

Veronica went to answer the door. "Hey," Logan greeted leaning in and kissing her cheek. "Dinner here yet?"

"Not yet, any minute now. Come in; there is someone who'd probably like to see you." Veronica led Logan into the living room. "So I don't think introductions are really needed here," Veronica said.

"Mac?" Logan asked quite surprised.

"Oh my god, Logan," Mac jumped up from her spot on the couch and gave him a hug. Then she turned very pointedly to Veronica her eyes wide.

"I'm going to go grab myself a beer," Logan said sensing he should probably get out of the line of fire. "You ladies need anything?"

"We're good," Veronica answered.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me," Mac said staring at Veronica. "How long have you two…?"

"Only about two weeks," Veronica said. She glanced toward the kitchen. "Mac, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just didn't know how people were going to react. After all the times before…"

"Veronica, I think it is wonderful. I've seen you with Logan and without. I know which is better for you and so do you."

"You get enough time to talk about me?" Logan asked as he began to reenter the room.

Mac and Veronica both laughed. "Yeah, I think so," Mac said. "I was just going to tell Veronica that I was hoping you could both stop being idiots and get it together this time."

Logan smiled at Mac and then at Veronica. Still looking at Veronica, he said, "That's my plan."

The doorbell rang again, and Veronica, grateful for the escape from what was becoming an uncomfortable conversation, went to answer it. Logan appeared at her side as she was digging through her purse for her wallet, so she could pay the deliveryman. "I got it," he said. Logan handed the deliveryman cash from his wallet and took the two bags of food; he passed one to Veronica.

"Logan," Veronica began, "you can't always pay for everything."

"Why not?" he asked as they carried the food to the kitchen where Mac joined them.

Glancing at Mac, Veronica said, "We'll continue this later."

"Did I interrupt something?" Mac asked.

"No, it's fine," Logan said. He winked at her when Veronica wasn't looking, earning him a smile from Mac.

"Let's just have dinner," said Veronica. They all dished up food, grabbed their beers from the living room, and sat down at the table. Most of dinner was spent with Logan and Mac filling each other in on their lives since college. Mac was currently living in Seattle working for a software company. Part of the reason for her visit was actually for a job interview in the Bay Area, which Veronica asked about, as they were finishing up dinner. "So tell us about the job interview?"

"It is for a small company, mainly working on stuff for tablets. I mean now that they are nearly replacing laptops in so many ways there is a lot more to do with them."

"I know some authors who write on them now rather than computers. I don't like it as much as having the buttons to type on though. I keep getting compared to the guys who insisted on using typewriters in the 90s," Logan said.

"Yeah, the Bureau uses them a lot now, too," Veronica added.

"Exactly," said Mac. "But the thing I like the best is that the company is smaller. I hate the anonymous feel of being at such a large cooperation now."

"It would be wonderful to have you closer," Veronica said. "I could see you more than three times a year."

"You said earlier you were hesitant about the move," Logan said. "Why?"

"Well…" Mac began but trailed off.

"There's a guy," Veronica answered for her. "I met him last time I went to Seattle."

"We've been together for over a year now," Mac explained to Logan. "I don't know. I just don't want to leave when I don't know what it could be."

"Maybe he could move with you?" Logan suggested.

"I don't know if he would want to," Mac said hesitantly.

"Have you asked?" both Logan and Veronica asked at the same time.

Mac laughed. It had lightened the mood. "No," she replied. "I'll think about it."

"Enough about my dating life. I want to hear how this happened again." Mac gestured between Veronica and Logan with her hand.

"I ran into Logan outside my office about a week after he had moved to the city."

"When she says she ran into me, she means literally," Logan jumped in. "I was innocently walking down the street…"

"…lost," Veronica jumped in.

Mac laughed. The token Logan, Veronica banter it seemed hadn't changed at all over the years since college. Logan and Veronica continued to tell the story of how they reconnected in this manner to Mac's continued amusement.

After awhile longer, when they had moved to the living room, Logan said, "I think I'll head home and give you two some girl time." He stood up.

"Mac, do you mind if I walk Logan out?" Veronica asked.

"Not at all," Mac said. "I'm going to grab another beer. Do you want one?"

"Sure," Veronica replied.

Logan crossed and gave Mac a hug. "It was really great to see you."

"I'll see you later this weekend right?" Mac asked.

"Sure," said Logan. "That would be nice." He didn't want to encroach, but if neither Mac nor Veronica opposed his being there, why not join in.

Veronica followed Logan to the door while Mac went into the kitchen for two more beers. Once they were in the stairwell, Logan looped an arm around Veronica's shoulder and hers, in turn, moved around his waist. "I'm glad you came over," she said as they walked down the stairs.

"I'm glad you invited me." They had stopped at the bottom of the stairs, and he turned Veronica in his arms, so she was facing him.

"I'm sorry I was weird about it before. I just didn't know how it would go over. After everything we've been through, I guess I worry about how people are going to react."

"Yeah," Logan said sounding quite dejected. He knew why Veronica was worried. Dick, the only friend from Neptune he had stayed in touch with, had given him shit when he had told him about running into Veronica. "She'll crush your heart again, man," he had said. Logan knew he had done plenty to make Veronica's friends think he wasn't to be trusted with her again.

"Hey Logan, it won't happen again," Veronica said. She could see the thoughts playing on Logan's face. She didn't want him to think she was embarrassed of him. She trusted him, and she needed to let him know that. "I promise."

"Yeah?" Logan asked. "'Cause I understand."

"No. I'll even tell my dad," Veronica said with a smile.

"I don't know about that one. He still owns a gun right?" Veronica just laughed and kissed him. "Alright, well you should get back to Mac," Logan said, pulling back from the kiss.

"Yeah," replied Veronica not moving. Logan leaned in and kissed her again, pulling her into a tight hug. When they broke apart, Veronica asked, "Do you want to hang out with us on Sunday? We have some stuff planned for tomorrow, but Sunday is just touristy stuff."

"Am I enough of a local now to play tour guide?" Logan asked in playful optimism.

Veronica laughed. "We will see. I should go."

"I'll miss you," Logan said, and he pulled her in for another passionate kiss. "Night," he whispered after they stopped for breath.

"Night," Veronica replied as Logan removed his arms from around her and opened the door. He leaned back for one last peck on the lips before walking out the door and down the street.

Veronica was tempted to lean against the door to regain her bearings, but she had left Mac alone for long enough, so instead, she hurried up the stairs.

Mac was sitting on the couch waiting for her. "I soooo can't believe you did not tell me that you were dating Logan again," she said emphatically. "Why on earth…?"

"Because I didn't know if I would get a 'why on earth didn't I tell you?' or a 'why on earth am I dating him again?'" said Veronica honestly.

"I always liked Logan. I think he did some really stupid things sometimes, and I didn't like when he wasn't good to you, but overall…"

"Yeah. My dad and Wallace are going to lose it when I tell them. I guess I should have known I wouldn't need to worry about telling you."

"You haven't told your dad yet?" Mac asked. "Does Logan know that?"

"Yeah I told him tonight that I would tell him. I got myself into this mess."

"What do you mean?" Mac asked.

"Well, I was thinking that I was so quick to blame Logan for all our issues when we were younger. Of course, I have to worry what other people will think. I planted those opinions in their heads by what I said."

"We're not teenagers anymore," Mac said affirmatively.

"That's just what Logan said when we started, whatever this is, again," Veronica said with a sigh.

"And what exactly is it?" Mac questioned. "Are you guys just casual or is it something serious?"

"We haven't defined it. But then again, Logan and I never have, unless you count him announcing to a room full of people who hated me that I was his girlfriend. But, usually, we just fall together." Veronica smiled at Mac. "We spend almost every night together though."

"There is the juicy stuff I've been waiting for," Mac joked. "Seriously though, that sounds pretty serious to me. Are you falling in love with him again?"

Veronica opened her mouth, but she couldn't answer, so she closed it again. She knew both she and Mac had no doubts that she had been in love with Logan before. "I don't honestly know," she said. "It has all felt just the way it did before, but I don't know what that means."

Mac nodded knowingly. She wondered if Veronica hadn't simply been in love with Logan this entire time. They spent a while longer talking about Logan, and then Kevin, Mac's boyfriend. Finally, they decided they had better turn in and made up Mac's bed before crashing for the night.


	8. Chapter 8

Saturday morning, Veronica and Mac had gone out for breakfast and then spent some time hanging out at Veronica's apartment before venturing out for some time in the city. Veronica had told Logan they had plans, which they had. They wanted some time just to catch up and hang out just the two of them. After dinner, they had gone back to Veronica's and watched movies and eaten junk food just as they would have in college.

Sunday came. They slept in and then went to a late brunch. Veronica had sent Logan a text message, and he was going to meet them down by the beach at Aquatic Park that afternoon. By the time Mac and Veronica arrived at the beach, Logan was sitting on the steps writing in a notebook. Veronica smiled at his concentration as they approached.

"Next brilliant novel in the works?" she asked as she sat down next to him, with Mac sitting on her other side.

"We shall see. Just working on some notes now."

"We were thinking of going to get some chocolate, and then maybe, head over to Golden Gate Park. Does that sound okay to you?"

"Sure that sounds fine to me. Can we go to the Buffalo Padlock?"

Veronica laughed, and Mac gave them both an odd look. "There is a herd of bison in Golden Gate Park. Logan had been on a kick to go see them ever since he heard about it."

"I'm up for seeing some bison. I was hoping to go to the art museums, too," Mac said with a laugh.

"As long as I get to see my bison," Logan replied.

After a longer than expected trip to Ghirardelli's, they took a bus part way and then walked the remaining distance to Golden Gate Park. The day ended up being quite entertaining and pleased all involved. Logan saw the bison, and Mac thoroughly enjoyed the art museums. Nothing they saw was new to Veronica, but she enjoyed the day more than any other she had spent at the park. Being with both Logan and Mac again made her feel grounded in a way she hadn't in a long time. It was like finding a part of herself she hadn't known was missing.

They stopped for dinner at a restaurant in Haight-Ashbury on the way back to Veronica's apartment. They spent a short while sitting in Veronica's living room talking before it was agreed it was time for bed. They were calling it an early night. Mac had her interview the following day, and Veronica had work. "You guys know it is okay by me for Logan to stay the night," Mac said as Logan made to leave again. "I'd assume he would if I weren't here." Logan and Veronica looked at each other. "Really," Mac added certainly.

"Okay," Logan and Veronica said together. They said goodnight to Mac and retired to Veronica's bedroom. Veronica slipped out to go use the bathroom, and when she returned Logan was lying on the bed still fully clothed.

"Are _you_ okay with me staying?" he asked.

"Of course," Veronica said unsure why he was asking. "Why?"

"Just checking," Logan stood up and stripped down to his boxers and undershirt.

Veronica finished changing as well, and slid into bed saying, "You know, Logan, if I didn't want you around you wouldn't be."

He laughed. "Yeah, I guess I do know that. You've never been one to put up with things you didn't like." He pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

When it became clear that Logan had no intention of stopping with the kissing, Veronica said in a whispered voice, "Logan, Mac's in the next room."

"I can be quiet," he replied. "Come on. I've gone two whole nights without you."

As he kissed her neck just below her ear and worked his way down to her collarbone, Veronica completely gave in and hoped she could also be quiet enough.

* * *

Veronica thoroughly enjoyed Mac's visit. She went with Mac to the airport on Monday evening and promised to come to visit in Seattle again soon, unless Mac moved to the Bay Area before she got the chance. Veronica was hoping she would be moving. She had made some great friends in the area, but she missed Mac a lot.

Things were still going well with Logan when a week before her birthday, he asked, "Do you have any plans for your birthday?" The topic of her birthday hadn't even come up, and she was slightly surprised by Logan's question.

"Leslie talked about dinner and drinks, but I think she wanted to do that Thursday before my birthday. Why?"

"I have a surprise for Friday and Saturday night," Logan said. Veronica's birthday was on Friday that year. "If you want to, that is?"

"How can I know if I want to if I don't know what it is?" she said. "I don't really like surprises."

"I recall. But I think you'll like this one."

Veronica looked at him appraisingly. "Okay fine."

"Great. You need to pack a bag and be ready after work on Friday."

"A bag for where?"

"That's the surprise," Logan said as if it was a completely illogical question.

"I need to know what to pack," Veronica said hoping for a way out of the shock of whatever these plans were.

"Pack as if you were staying here."

"Hmm, okay." Veronica was just finishing up washing dishes and handed the last one to Logan to dry. "You know, I never thought I'd see the day Logan Echolls dried dishes," Veronica joked.

"I haven't had people do that kind of stuff for me for over five years," Logan said matter-of-factly. "Though, I have always had a dishwasher. I don't understand why we are washing these by hand."

"Gives you a taste of how the other half lives," Veronica joked. "But really, because your dishwasher is full, and dirty. Maybe you should consider running it more often."

"Perhaps," Logan replied sarcastically.

"How are you feeling about tomorrow?" she asked.

"A little nervous. You're still coming right?" Logan responded.

"For the twenty-fourth time, yes." Every time the topic of the book reading came up, Logan asked if she was still going.

"Just checking. I'm not scared to be in front of people. I've done that my whole life. It is just the rest."

"You'll be wonderful." Veronica gave him a quick kiss before heading out of the kitchen, Logan following her.

"Did you see this?" Logan pulled a newspaper section out a magazine rack. "It's from the arts' section of today's paper."

Veronica looked at the article he indicated, shaking her head. The article read:

_Author's Pen Name Hides More Than Identity_

_This Saturday, the Books Inc location on Van Ness will host a reading and book signing by author L.E. Lester. Lester's first appearance was met by much enthusiasm by the literary community. His two novels have both been highly acclaimed, despite merely average sales numbers. Little has been known about Lester since his first book was published just over three years ago. This appearance is changing that. _

_While it is not uncommon for authors' to use pen names, it seems that this author has a unique reason to keep anonymity. L.E. Lester is in fact Logan Echolls, son of movie stars Lynn and Aaron Echolls. The Echolls' sordid past leaves no mystery as to why this young author would want to keep his true identity a secret._

_Actress Lynn Echolls was presumed dead over ten years ago after her car was discovered abandoned on the Coronado Bridge in Southern California, where it is assumed she leapt to her death. _

_Action star Aaron Echolls' death is even more dramatic than his late wife's. Echolls was found shot in the head in his hotel suite shortly after being acquitted for the murder of Lilly Kane, Logan Echolls' high school girlfriend. He had been tried on charges of statutory rape and murder in this notorious crime after the presumed killer had been proved innocent through the evidence of a call girl. Following Mr. Echolls' acquittal, suspicions shifted to Duncan Kane, the brother of the victim, who had fled the country earlier that year after kidnapping his own daughter. [Cont. page D4]_

Veronica had no intention of looking at the rest of the article. The part she had read had been bad enough. She had been so focused on Logan's concerns for all this history being brought up, she hadn't even thought about how it would affect her. Reading it made her feel physically sick. She looked up at Logan, who had remained standing at her side while she read the article. He looked on the verge of tears.

"I'm so sorry Logan," she said. She reached out and touched his arm. He raised his other hand and placed it on her cheek. In unison, each pulled the other into a hug. Veronica couldn't remember the last time she had clung so tightly to another person. They basically collapsed onto the couch. Logan leaned back and pulled Veronica so she was resting against him, her head on his chest.

"I keep hoping I'll escape it someday," Logan said with a sigh.

"I don't think it is escapable," Veronica replied looking up at him.

"It isn't like I want to forget Lilly or my mom. I just want to not have it follow me around." Logan leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

Veronica sat up. She looked at Logan sadly. She wondered briefly if part of what kept bringing her and Logan back together was that they were equally haunted by their shared past. As Logan ran a hand through his hair in obvious distress, Veronica realized it really didn't matter why they kept coming together, just that they did. She took a hold of Logan's hand where is rested on his leg and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I know," she whispered. "Come on, let's go to bed. Big day tomorrow, and I promise I'll be right there with you."

"Okay," Logan responded. He let Veronica urge him to his feet and led him into the bedroom.

* * *

The following evening, Veronica found herself standing nervously in the bookstore. Logan had disappeared a while ago with the store manager to sort things out but not before glancing apprehensively at Veronica, who had given him a reassuring smile. The store was beginning to fill with more people; they were gradually filling in the chairs set up. Veronica remained standing toward the back wall. She glanced at her phone to check the time; it was only a couple minutes until the scheduled time of Logan's reading. The remaining people lingering were finding chairs, and there seemed to be an exceptionally good turn out. She hoped that it had nothing to do with the article from the paper.

When the reading finally began, Logan gave Veronica a long look as he approached a podium. She smiled at him. As he read sections from his latest novel, Veronica enjoyed watching the crowd. It was funny the way Logan so easily commanded the attention of everyone in the room. It reminded her of when he was the focus of everyone at his table during lunch in high school. Everyone wanted to listen to him.

Logan had read out of the book a lot to Veronica over the past week trying to choose the best selections. Hearing him read to an audience had a completely different effect. Something about all the people attentively listening to him put more intensity behind Logan's voice and the story. Veronica realized that she had been grinning through the entire reading, even the more depressing parts, simply because she was so impressed by Logan.

After he finished the reading, people began to line up to get their books signed. The line curved around past Veronica, but she simply kept her place against the wall and continued to watch Logan, a smile plastered to her face. Everything seemed to be going well, and Logan's concerns seemed to be unfounded. Veronica was startled out of her thoughts by a woman in the back of the line speaking to her. "I'm sorry. What?" Veronica asked when she realized she hadn't heard what the woman asked.

"Did you want to get in line to get your book signed?" the woman asked. She had short brown hair and looked like she was about Veronica's age.

"Oh, no thank you. I actually already have mine signed."

"Really? How'd you manage that? You haven't left this spot all evening," the woman said. When Veronica gave her an odd look, she added, "I wasn't like watching you in a weird way or anything. I just love people watching. I find it completely fascinating."

"It's fine," Veronica said. "I understand." She realized the woman kind of reminded her of Lilly, which made her smile.

"I'm Katie, by the way."

"Veronica."

"So how'd you get your book signed?" Katie asked again. Veronica was now kind of walking along with her in line as they continued to talk.

Veronica laughed slighting. "Um, I actually know the author." She gestured towards Logan.

"Really?" Katie asked enthusiastically. "I just love his books. I brought both," she added indicating the books in her hand.

Veronica nodded. "They are wonderful."

"So what is he like?" Katie asked. "I always wonder that about people like authors and actors."

"He's well…" Veronica began and then lost any sense of what to say about Logan. As she was trying to figure out just what to say, they got up to the table. Veronica fell off to the side to let Katie talk to Logan.

"Hi," Logan said, greeting Katie, and taking her books. He smiled at Veronica. "Whom am I making these out to?" he asked friendlily.

"My name is Katie."

"Nice to meet you Katie," Logan said signing the books. He handed them back to her.

Looking at Veronica, he said, "I have to go back into the back office to wrap some stuff up then I'll be ready to go."

"No problem," she responded. "I'll wait right here."

Logan disappeared again, and Veronica continued to talk to Katie. It seemed they got along well. Logan reappeared from the office while they were still talking. He walked up and wrapped his arms around Veronica from behind. "Hey there," he said kissing her cheek.

"Hey," she said leaning into him.

Katie laughed, "So when you said you knew the author…"

"Yeah, I know him pretty well," Veronica responded with a laugh.

"Katie, I'm Logan," Logan introduced himself to Katie letting go of Veronica to shake Katie's hand. "We were going to go get a drink now. Would you like to join us?"

"Yeah, that would be great." Katie broke into a grin. "Mind if I call my boyfriend to meet us?"

"Not at all."

* * *

Drinks were quite fun. Once Veronica was positive that neither Katie nor her boyfriend was a reporter digging for a story into Logan, she relaxed even more and enjoyed herself. However, both she and Logan were exceptionally happy when it was just the two of them again. They went back to Logan's apartment. He sat down in a chair in the living room, and Veronica sat on the floor leaning back against his legs. Logan was rubbing her shoulders while she ran her hands up and down his lower legs over his ankles.

"So the whole thing seemed to go well from where I was watching," she said.

"Yeah, I guess," replied Logan.

"Were there any problems that came up?" Veronica asked. When Logan didn't respond, Veronica turned around to face him and sat on the edge of the coffee table. "Logan?"

"One woman wanted me to sign your dad's book and this guy had another one about the scandal that was my family. Another woman kept asking why I didn't write a book about Lilly's death. Other than that it was good."

"I'm so proud of you," Veronica said taking his hand. "You were just amazing tonight."

"Thanks." He leaned in and kissed her, pulling her into his lap. After a few minutes, he said, "Let's go to bed."


	9. Chapter 9

Veronica was finishing up packing her bag for the weekend after work on her birthday. As she added a sweatshirt to the bag and nice dress for a dinner Logan had hinted at, the buzzer rang. "Come on up," she said and buzzed Logan in.

"Happy Birthday," he greeted giving her a hug when she opened the door for him.

"Thanks," she said as he kissed her cheek. "I just need to add a couple more things to my bag. Should I change now before we leave?"

"If you want. I thought we would just relax once we got there. Before dinner that is."

"Alright, I'll just throw on something more casual then," Veronica said. After she finished packing, she changed into jeans and a black t-shirt while Logan went downstairs to hail a cab. He came back up after a few minutes, and Veronica was grabbing an army green jacket out of the closet.

"Ready? The cab is waiting," Logan said while grabbing her bag from by the door. He had already loaded his in the cab.

"Yep, I'm ready."

At first, Veronica spent the cab ride trying to get Logan to tell her where they were going. When he wouldn't give in, she just tried to figure it out for herself. She thought, at one point, that they might be taking the cab to a metro station, but then they had switched directions. Logan was grinning at her annoyance. He had specifically told the cab driver where to go while Veronica had still been upstairs and added that it was a surprise.

Veronica got a puzzled look on her face when they began to drive into the area around Fisherman's Wharf. The cab finally pulled to a stop in front of the Argonaut Hotel. She looked at Logan with a smile. "Are you kidding me?" she asked.

"You said you had always wanted to stay here," Logan replied. She gave him a hug as she climbed out of the cab. "So I did good?" Logan asked.

"You did _very_ good," Veronica replied kissing him quickly on the lips.

Logan took the bags from the cab driver, who had removed them from the trunk. "Thank you," he said handing the driver a tip. The doorman, wearing a sailor uniform and funny hat, came up to check if they needed anything. "We're fine. Thank you," Logan said politely. Logan continued to carry both bags; being as they were small, a luggage cart was unnecessary. They went to the front desk where Logan offered his name to check-in.

"Of course Mr. Echolls; the bellhop will see you to your room," the concierge said and handed Logan two keys.

The bellhop led them to their room, which was on the top floor. He opened the door for Veronica and Logan to enter. He then carried their bags into the bedroom before returning and asking Logan if he could do anything else for them. Logan said there wasn't, thanked him, and handed him a tip. Through all of that, Veronica was staring open mouthed at first the room and then the view.

The room, like the rest of the hotel, had a strong nautical theme. The walls were yellow striped wallpaper, except for one, which was exposed brick. The bed had a blue and white quilt and a blue star shaped pillow. The carpet was blue with yellow stars on it, and the chairs and couch in the living room area were upholstered in both blue and yellow. Veronica had wandered into the bathroom to discover the deepest bathtub she had ever seen. Everything about the room was gorgeous.

The view was even more spectacular. She had thought Logan's view at his apartment was good. Their top floor bay view room gave a full view of the San Francisco Bay. Veronica turned around as the bellhop closed the door. Logan was standing in the middle of the living room watching her. He was smiling at her with a look that made Veronica feel like blushing. "Logan, this is…" she trailed off. "It's just…"

Logan laughed quietly and walked over to her. "Veronica Mars speechless, I'm starting to like this power." He reached up and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Happy birthday," he said quietly.

"Thank you so much Logan. This is amazing."

"Ahh, she found the word at last," Logan joked. Veronica shoved his shoulder in response to the teasing. He took advantage of her movement, grabbed her around the wrist, and pulled her into a fervent kiss. Logan began to back up until he reached the bed where he sat down pulling Veronica with him so she was straddling his legs. After a few more kisses, Logan fell backwards onto the bed..

"So?" Logan asked. "I made plans for us for dinner in about an hour and a half. What would you like to do until then?"

"I'm sure we can think of something," Veronica said and bent down to kiss him. He gripped her hips and deepened the kiss, and she lay down on top of him.

* * *

Nearly an hour later, Veronica had showered and changed into a deep blue, strapless, chiffon dress. She was getting ready to put as silver necklace, with blue and silver stones spaced along it, around her neck when Logan came up behind her. He placed his hands on her upper arms. She stopped and caught his eyes in the mirror in front of her. He ran his hands down her arms and took the necklace, fastening around her neck for her. He bent down and kissed her neck below her ear and whispered, "You're beautiful."

Veronica spun around in his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him. "I'm almost ready," she said after pulling back.

"That's fine. Our reservation isn't for another thirty minutes, and the restaurant is close." He kissed her again quickly and left the bathroom.

Veronica put on her earrings and retouched her lipstick. She finished fixing her hair, which she was wearing down in gentle curls. Once ready, she walked through the bedroom and into the living room, where Logan was sitting on the couch flipping through channels on the TV waiting.

"I'm ready," she said. Logan clicked off the TV and stood up. He grabbed his suit jacket off the arm of the chair next to him and put it on. "You look so handsome," Veronica said walking into his arms and adjusting his tie. Logan rarely wore suits, but they definitely worked for him. This one was gray, and he had paired it with a deep blue shirt and silver and black striped tie. Veronica ran her hands down his chest and gripped his lapels pulling him in for a kiss.

"We should definitely go… now," Logan said. He was pretty sure if Veronica kept kissing him like that, they wouldn't make it to the restaurant. Veronica laughed but turned toward the door. Logan took her hand as they walked down the hall to the elevator and didn't let go until they reached the door of Gary Danko's restaurant, two block walk away. He moved his hand to the small of Veronica's back and led her through the doorway. They were a bit early for the reservation and ordered a glass of wine each at the bar, which they carried to their table a few minutes later.

It was the kind of restaurant where you pay a flat rate depending on how many courses you wish to eat. Veronica and Logan opted for the minimum of three; Logan insisted they needed to get dessert for Veronica's birthday. Veronica started with a lobster, shrimp, and vegetable risotto, and Logan had seared tuna. For their entrees, Veronica had seafood while Logan ordered lamb, of which Veronica occasionally stole bites, offering him some of her fish in exchange. All the food was amazing, but dessert was by far Veronica's favorite part of the meal. She ordered a chocolate soufflé with amazing sauces. Logan had a selection of crème brulee.

"That was an unbelievable restaurant," Veronica said as they walked back to the hotel. "The food was really good."

"It was," Logan said. "But I'm happier to be alone with you again away from all the people." He wrapped his arm around her, and she leaned her head on his shoulder. "Back to the hotel room?" he asked.

"That sounds great to me." It wasn't late, but it wasn't too early to head back, and spending time with Logan in the room alone sounded like a perfect birthday to her.

As they were walking back into the hotel, Veronica pulled her phone out of her purse and glanced at it. She frowned. "You're dad hasn't called yet?" Logan asked.

Veronica shook her head. "I guess he did. I mean he called while I was at work, but I couldn't answer. I thought he would call back."

"I'm sure he will. He knows he can call you later on a Friday night, right?"

"He probably fell asleep," Veronica said with a half-laugh.

"Veronica, nothing would stop your father from calling you on your birthday."

Veronica just nodded. And sure enough, by the time they got out of the elevator on their floor, Veronica's phone was ringing. "Hi," she greeted.

"Happy birthday, sweetheart," Keith said.

"Thanks dad." Veronica grinned and followed Logan into their suite.

"How's the birthday so far?" Keith asked.

"Great actually," she replied. Logan had stayed in the living room, as Veronica walked into the bedroom, to give her a chance to talk to her father. She sat down on the bed.

"Logan doing something nice for you?" Veronica had been surprised that her father had handled her being back with Logan as well as he had. She could tell he wasn't completely thrilled with the idea, but he had been supportive overall.

"You have no idea. It's amazing. He got this amazing suite at a hotel by Ghirardelli's Square where I've always wanted to stay, and we just got back from having an incredible dinner."

"That sounds nice. I'll let you go. Happy Birthday. I love you so much."

"I love you too dad. I miss you."

"Me too, honey. Have a good night."

"Night," Veronica said before hanging up.

"Look what we got," Logan said, as Veronica reentered the living room, indicating a bottle of champagne chilling on a table between the chairs along with some Ghirardelli chocolates. "Should I uncork that?" he asked gesturing to the champagne.

"Definitely." Veronica walked over and stood next to him. Logan handed her a champagne flute and picked up the bottle. He uncorked it and poured Veronica her glass before picking up the other flute to pour himself some.

"Happy birthday," he said as he clinked glasses with Veronica.

Veronica smiled at him. "Thanks so much for all of this, Logan. I think this is the best birthday I've ever had."

"Guess I'll have something to top for next year," Logan said.

Veronica stopped drinking her champagne mid-sip but left the glass at her lips. This was the first time either Logan or she had mentioned anything about the future of their relationship. Looking at Logan, it was clear he also seemed to have registered what he said.

"Do you think…?" Veronica was planning to ask if he really thought they would still be together in a year.

"Yeah, I do," Logan said. "At least, I hope so." He hadn't even waited for her to finish the question. He was going to ask what she thought but didn't want to freak her out, and he knew it would. She smiled up at him, which was enough sign for him.

"I was hoping to try out that amazing Jacuzzi tub. Care to join me?" Veronica asked with an alluring smile.

Logan smiled in return. "Yes," he said, leaving it simple. "I'll bring the champagne."

The bathtub was just as amazing as Veronica had predicted, and sharing the bath with Logan made it even better. He was sitting behind her, and she was leaning back into his chest. They were each on their third and final glass of champagne; the empty bottle still sat by the side of the tub. Veronica felt like she was going to fall asleep; Her head was rested back against Logan's shoulder, and he was absent-mindedly playing with her fingers, running them through his own.

"Can we just come back here next year for my birthday?" Veronica asked not opening her eyes.

Logan's smile grew, and he leaned his head down and kissed her cheek gently. "If that's what you want," he responded. He made no mention of Veronica's implication that she also believed they would be together the following year.

After another fifteen minutes or so, they got out of the bathtub. Wrapping the incredibly soft towel around herself, Veronica went out into the bedroom. When she reentered the bathroom, she was wearing a cheetah print bathrobe provided by the hotel. "That's very… wild," Logan said grinning at her insinuatingly.

"I brought you the tiger stripped one," Veronica said with a smirk.

Logan continued to smile and took the bathrobe from her, replacing the towel wrapped around his waist with the robe.

* * *

Lying in bed late that night, Veronica was struck by a thought. "Logan?" she asked.

"Hmmm?" he responded. He was focused on her skin, running his fingers over her shoulders and down her back.

"How much did this room cost?" In the awe of the day, Veronica hadn't even thought about the fact that this must be the most expensive suite in the hotel, especially when the view was considered, and Logan had booked it for two nights.

"You're not allowed to ask how much your birthday present cost," Logan answered with amusement, "It's rude."

Veronica sighed. "Seriously Logan, this must be costing a fortune."

"Well fortunately, I have one to spare," Logan responded light heartedly. He didn't know how to tell Veronica, but being able to spend money on her made him feel better about having money he did nothing to earn. When he had been young, he had felt entitled to that money; now, it was a reminder of his father. "Veronica, it's your birthday. It is special. Besides, I like spending my money on you."

Logan's comment brought a small smile to Veronica's lips. "But you don't have to. I don't expect it." What she wanted to say was that he didn't need to buy her love, but she wasn't ready to use that word yet.

"I know you don't. That is what makes it enjoyable. If you expected me to, I wouldn't want to."

Veronica smiled at him. "Okay," she replied. She was going to continue, but Logan cut her off with his lips on hers.

* * *

Saturday morning, Logan woke up to find Veronica still asleep. He had fallen asleep with his arms wrapped around her and her head on his chest. Now, she was curled up facing him. He took a minute to watch her sleep, before running a hand down the side of her face and crawling out of bed. He slipped into the bathroom.

When Logan returned from the bathroom, Veronica was still asleep. He pulled on a pair of pants and t-shirt. He glanced at the clock; it was after ten. Breakfast in both the restaurant or as room service ended at 10:30. He glanced at Veronica's sleeping form. They had a complimentary breakfast as part of the package he had gotten with the room. Based on how he was feeling and after the workout they had had the night before, Logan assumed Veronica would be hungry when she woke up. Glancing at her one last time, with a smile, Logan walked into the living room.

Veronica woke up in bed alone. Sunlight was peeking through the curtains. She wasn't sure what had woken her, but she thought she heard Logan speaking to someone in the living room; he had closed the door to the bedroom, so she wasn't sure. She got up and picked up the bathrobe she had worn the night before from the chair near the bed. Slipping the robe on, she walked into the living room.

Logan was just closing the door and in the middle of the room was a room service cart. "Morning," he said as he turned around and saw Veronica standing there. "How'd you sleep?" he asked walking to her and wrapping her in his arms.

"Mmm," Veronica sighed. "Very well. Is that breakfast?" she asked eagerly.

"It certainly is," Logan replied. "You have two choices of how you want your eggs. I'll take the others. Want to take it back to bed?"

Veronica smiled, and they returned to the bedroom for breakfast. They spent the rest of the morning in bed. Eventually, they got up to shower, together. In the afternoon, they walked down to Pier 39 and just wandered around. By early evening, they were back at the hotel. Veronica had been teasing Logan for about an hour, very specific teasing, and now all Logan could think of was getting her back in bed.

By the time they were alone in the elevator, Logan couldn't take it anymore. He pulled Veronica into his arms and spun her against the wall of the elevator, kissing her passionately. Veronica laughed against his lips. Their arms remained wrapped around each other as the walked down the hallway. They barely made it into the room before they began shedding each other's clothing.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Logan asked as they lay in bed in exceptionally drowsy states. He was lying on his side facing Veronica who was on her back, and he was playing with her hair. "They say the sunset is beautiful behind the bridge, and it has been pretty clear today."

"Sounds nice," Veronica said rolling over to face Logan. She leaned forward and kissed Logan before getting up to get dressed. He followed suit, each of them dressing casually in jeans and t-shirts and grabbing jackets before they left the room.

The walk was beautiful. They wandered through Fort Mason and along the Marina Green. Veronica had reached out for Logan's hand as they began to walk, and he linked his fingers with hers. As they reached The Presidio, the sunset was starting to build. Veronica led Logan to a grassy spot with a good view. She sat down, and Logan sat behind her. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek. Veronica leaned back into him and laced her fingers with Logan's. They sat like that until the sun had completely set. Then they walked back to the hotel with the view of the lights of the city.

They had dinner in the Blue Mermaid before going back upstairs to their room. The night was much like the one before. For a while, they watched a movie on the couch. Eventually, they each decided the other was more interesting than the movie.

After they'd made love, they sat on the bed and ate snacks from the mini-bar and drank a bottle of wine. Veronica had grabbed the bottle of wine out of Logan's hand and was attempting to keep it out of his reach as she drank the last bit straight out of the bottle. Finally, he recovered the then empty bottle and discarded it to the floor, instead taking the opportunity to pin Veronica to the bed. Hovering above her, he grinned at her and leaned down to kiss her.


	10. Chapter 10

The high of their wonderful weekend of her birthday lasted Logan and Veronica another couple weeks. But then, at the beginning of September, she was sent to Nevada for work. One of her cases, the suspected serial killer, was going exceptionally badly. Their one lead was that he might be back in Nevada. After being gone for five days, she came home exhausted and cranky. She had barely unpacked when Logan showed up at her door.

"What the hell happened to you?" he asked when she opened the door.

Veronica had a bruise running about 4 inches down the side of her face. She reached up as if to touch it. "It's nothing," she replied.

"Nothing? Are you fucking kidding me? It looks like someone slammed a two by four into your face." Logan reached out and touched her face beneath the bruise, careful to avoid touching it.

"It was just an issue with a suspect. I'm fine. It is actually looking a bit better today." Veronica turned away from him and walked into the apartment.

"Better?" Logan asked following Veronica into the living room.

"Logan, just drop it," Veronica snapped. "I don't have the energy for this."

"Fine. Let's just order dinner," Logan said in an equally annoyed voice.

After dinner, Logan was sitting on the couch looking through a notebook and typing on his laptop. Veronica was sitting in a chair reading. "What is that?" she asked curiously motioning toward the notebook.

"A notebook from a college writing class, mostly just short stories and autobiographical stuff. I use it sometimes to come up with ideas when I'm stuck." Logan's answer was cold and dismissive.

Veronica nodded. "I know it's early for a Saturday, but I think I am going to go to bed. I'm wiped from the trip," she said getting up.

"I'm going to work a little longer," Logan replied without looking up.

Veronica went into the bedroom and changed into pajamas. She wished Logan would join her, but at the same time was still annoyed with his reaction to her bruise. She could take care of herself. She silently went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face, and then she climbed into bed.

Logan attempted his best to ignore Veronica as she moved between the bedroom and bathroom. For the past five days, he had been waiting for her to come home. He had missed her tremendously, but he was upset that she had snapped at him when he had just been concerned. He turned his frustration into productive energy and kept writing until he thought Veronica was probably asleep. He went into the bedroom and quietly got ready for bed.

Logan was only asleep for an hour or so when Veronica thrashing and mumbling in her sleep woke him. "Veronica," he said reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Veronica," he repeated trying to wake her up.

When she finally woke up, Veronica was breathing quickly. Logan left his hand on her shoulder as she sat up. "Veronica, are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, just a nightmare," she responded. "I'm fine."

"What was it about?" Logan asked.

She bit her lip, but it took her awhile to speak. Veronica eventual told Logan the story of how she had gotten the bruise. She told him how they had set up a sting to catch their suspect and how she had been the bait. She explained that she had been made and the situation had gotten violent. She left out some of the details, but for the most part, she told him the whole story.

By the time Veronica reached the end of the story, Logan was nearly losing his mind. "Veronica, how could you let yourself get into that situation?" He was fuming. The only thought running through his mind was that she could have died, and he would have lost her forever.

"Logan, it is my job," Veronica explained. "It is who I am."

"It isn't who you are. It's what you do. You could do something else. Something safe." Logan was almost yelling now and was surprised to find himself standing up.

"I like my job," Veronica replied matching Logan's tone and volume. "I'm good at my job."

"There are more important things," he said even louder.

"Logan, just give it a rest. You can't stop me from being who I am." Veronica was now standing on the opposite side of the bed.

"I'm not trying to. I care about you. I'm just trying to keep you safe." Logan ran his hands over his face.

"I don't need or want you to do that," Veronica snapped.

"Fine," Logan grabbed his jeans off the top of the dresser and pulled them on, followed by his shirt, and walked out into the living room.

"What are you doing?" Veronica asked following.

"Leaving," Logan said grabbing his wallet, keys, and laptop bag.

"But…" Veronica began. Logan was out the door before she could finish saying, "It's the middle of the night." Her arms dropped to her sides in defeat, and she considered going back to bed. Instead, she went to the bathroom and turned on the shower. The tears were already slipping down her face by the time she got into the shower.

Logan gave up trying to hail a cab after five minutes and just walked home. He was fuming the entire walk. By the time he got inside his apartment and flopped on the bed, it began to occur to him that he and Veronica might not have come as far since college as he would have liked to think.

* * *

Neither Veronica nor Logan called the other during the weekend or early the following week. Logan was miserable, but refused to call her first. He knew what would happen. He would apologize for something that he didn't think he'd done wrong and nothing would change. He refused to stay stuck in that cycle this time.

After four days of not talking to Logan, Veronica was really beginning to miss him. Wednesday night she was sitting in her living room and noticed something. The notebook Logan had been looking at Saturday night was sitting on top of the bookshelf. She knew that she shouldn't look at it, but her curiosity eventually got the better of her. She grabbed the notebook and ran her hand over the cover for a moment. Then she flipped it open. Most of the entries appeared to be notes or short compositions in Logan's familiar handwriting. One caught her eye, and she began to read.

_Not Like I Loved Her _

_I've loved two girls in my life. The first may never have really loved me, but the second; I need to believe she did. _

_The first girl I loved was my escape from the hell that was my life. I know, poor little rich boy. People always think they know, but nobody can. Not unless they have experienced these things themselves. I would escape to my best friend's house. She was always there. Demanding attention, and making you feel privileged when she returned that attention. When she first paid attention to me, I was flattered. Then, suddenly there was more to it. I couldn't tell you when I fell in love with her. It was a youthful love, puppy love they say. But, she was an expert at making the world bend to her will, me included. No matter how much I loved her, it would never be enough. Not to make her love me back. Then, like that, she was gone. I can't tell for sure if she ever did love me, but even if she did, it was not like I loved her. _

_The second girl I loved was my salvation from the hell I had made for myself. The asshole persona I had created for myself, the guy who had ruined her life, and still, she saved me. I can tell you every step of falling in love with her. The moment I knew I had to kiss her. The moment I knew I would give up all my friends for her. And the moment I truly and completely knew I was in love with her. It was a completely normal summer day, in the most abnormal summer of my life. The beach was filled with people, kids building sandcastles, teenagers messing about in the waves, guys out surfing, and women sunbathing. She was standing throwing a ball for her dog when I walked onto the beach. She turned and smiled at me, and my world lit up. At that moment, I knew. _

_Like I usually do with good things, I screwed up. I was angry and blew off steam in all the wrong ways. By the time I got over being angry with her for ending things, she had moved on, or back as the case was. Back to her ex, my best friend. Epic love I told myself. There had to be the struggle, the heartbreak. I hoped someday there would be another chance. _

_There was. I found myself falling even harder the second time. But there was this deep-seeded fear in me now. I couldn't possibly live up to her expectations. There was no way she could love me like I loved her. So I tried to end things, end them on my terms. But it hurts just as much to break it off with someone you love as to have her break it off with you. When she came back, I jumped into the deep end without even looking. I knew I would disappoint her, let her down, and I did. What else could I do when I had already convinced myself I would? She found someone else. He was normal. He was safe. He didn't sabotage himself. He didn't jump without looking. _

_She never told me she loved me. She said, "Me too," when I told her I loved her and "Yes" when I asked if she loved me, but she never said "I love you." I just want to believe she did. Need to believe she did. Because if she didn't, maybe nobody will ever love me like I loved her. _

Veronica wondered when during reading the entry she had stopped breathing. Suddenly, she felt extremely guilty for reading the story. She had completely invaded something that Logan had obviously meant to be private. That feeling led into a whole new set of guilt. Did Logan really question if she had ever loved him?

Suddenly, their fight played again through her mind. Then fights from high school and college. She had always assumed it was as obvious to Logan as it was to her that she loved him. But then she began to wonder what made her think that. What evidence had she ever given Logan that she truly loved him? Suddenly, Veronica was on her feet grabbing her purse and jacket as she walked out the door.

* * *

Logan was having a terrible week. He had agreed to an interview in a magazine. More and more interview requests had been coming in since his reading. He was now absolutely sure why he had been avoiding them in the past. He had answered three questions about his writing before the interviewer changed the subject to his family and Lilly's murder. Wednesday, after the interview, while riding in the elevator up to his apartment, he had an intense desire to call Veronica. He reminded himself why he wasn't calling her, why he was waiting.

As he stepped out of the elevator, something caught his eye. There was someone sitting on the floor leaning against the wall near his door. She was wearing a skirt and black jacket, and her head was resting in her hands. Veronica got to her feet as soon as she saw Logan. "Hi," she said quietly.

"What are you doing here, Veronica?" Logan asked as he opened the door and went inside. He held the door open to allow her to enter.

Veronica hesitated for a moment. "I need to tell you something," she replied.

"Okay…" Logan said.

Veronica didn't know how to continue, so instead she said, "Here, you left this at my place." She reached into her purse and handed Logan the notebook.

"Well, thanks for bringing it back." He dropped the notebook onto the bar where he was pouring himself a drink. "Was there something else Veronica?"

Veronica had expected Logan to be upset but not this cold. She didn't know how to say what she needed to with this reception. She began to turn and leave, but was stopped by Logan's voice. "Did you read any of it?" She turned back to him biting her lower lip. "Of course you did," he replied with a biting laugh.

"Logan, I didn't mean to…" Veronica tried to explain.

"You never mean to, Veronica." Logan could feel himself getting angrier. He ran his hands through his hair, took a deep breath, and sighed. He'd spent some time since college learning to handle his anger, and the strategies usually worked. With Veronica standing right in front of him, it seemed to be more difficult. "So what'd you come to tell me? If it had just been about the notebook, you could have just left it."

"It wasn't." Logan was just staring at her. "Do you remember the summer before senior year of high school."

Logan gave a bitter laugh. "No, I've completely forgotten."

Veronica, determined not to be deterred by Logan's sarcasm, continued. "You remember that one night in your car when you told me that you were in love with me?"

"Yeah. You joked that I was just saying it to get into your pants," Logan said in the same resentful tone.

Veronica's facial expression changed at the comment. Logan thought it looked a lot like shame. She took a deep breath and continued. "I did. What I should have said…" She sighed again. "…was that I loved you, too."

Whatever Logan had been expecting, it wasn't that. He simply remained staring at her. He now had a pretty good sense of what Veronica had read in his notebook, but he remained silent.

"I should have told you a lot in fact, that I loved you." Logan still wasn't saying anything and Veronica wasn't sure what that meant, but after another sigh, she continued anyway. "And I should probably say that I think I have been in love with you ever since then, too."

Logan's demeanor had completely changed almost instantly. "What are you saying?" he asked quietly.

Veronica bit her bottom lip and said, "I'm saying, I love you Logan." Veronica was puzzling over what to say next, but she didn't need to. In a moment, Logan had moved to her and was kissing her passionately. Veronica wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I love you, too, by the way," Logan whispered as he kissed her neck. Veronica felt her smile grow even bigger.


	11. Chapter 11

_* There seems to be a lot of speculation about Logan's birthday, but nobody ever seems to mention two key ideas in my mind. First, Logan drove home from Mexico the day Lilly died, which means he was 16 before the beginning of October. Second, people generally turn 18 during their senior year or shortly after. Veronica would actually have been quite old for her grade in school, particularly in California. In my mind these two facts mean, Logan's birthday is sometime in September*_

* * *

"So what do you want to do for your birthday?" Veronica asked Logan one night over dinner at a restaurant down the street from his apartment.

"Nothing," Logan said. "I really don't care about my birthday."

"Come on Logan, my birthday was amazing. I'll feel bad if we don't do something nice for yours." Veronica had been hesitant to ask Logan what he wanted to do for his birthday. She had changed her mind though after spending a week trying to come up with a good plan on her own.

"I just don't know. Maybe just something simple." Thinking about his birthday made Logan think of his mother. He explained this to Veronica. "My mom used to go all out for my birthdays when I was a kid."

"I remember, wasn't your thirteenth birthday when she took all you boys on rides in the vintage warplanes?"

"Yeah, I think that was the last one that was just boys. But they were all like that, even when I was little. Thinking about my birthday just…"

"Makes you miss her more," Veronica said knowingly. Logan just nodded. "We'll keep it simple."

"Thanks," Logan said taking Veronica's hand across the table.

* * *

Veronica didn't mention Logan's birthday to him again except to tell him to be at her place at eight that night. It was a Wednesday night. Logan showed up at almost eight exactly. Veronica smiled at him when she opened the door. "Happy birthday," she greeted giving him a quick kiss. "Come on in."

"Wow," Logan said as he walked in. Veronica had set up her dining table with a tablecloth, nice dishes, silverware, and wine glasses that Logan didn't even know she had. An exceptionally good bottle of wine sat on the middle of the table.

"Dinner's not quite ready. Why don't you sit down and wait," Veronica said.

"Did you cook for me?" Logan asked. He knew that Veronica could cook, but she didn't do it often.

"Yeah," she said with a smile. "You want some wine?"

"I'll pour it," Logan replied.

"Okay, I need to get back to the food anyway. Sit down and relax while I finish it up."

Logan poured two glasses of wine and brought Veronica one in the kitchen. "I'd rather wait in here and watch you cook," he said kissing her cheek as he handed her the wine.

"Okay, I'm making over-roasted steak and potatoes and a mixed steamed veggie dish. Sound okay?"

"Sounds amazing," Logan replied. "Damn this is sexy," he said leaning over and kissing Veronica's neck from behind.

"What?" Veronica asked. "I'm wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and an apron."

"Don't even get that into the apron part, but I actually meant the cooking." Logan grinned at her. "It smells amazing, too."

"Good 'cause it's ready," Veronica said.

The dinner had turned out wonderfully as had the cake Veronica had made. She had frosted it with "Happy Birthday Logan" on the top. "I figured a birthday cake should be a birthday cake," Veronica said with a smile.

"I love it," Logan replied.

After they finished dessert, Veronica vanished into her bedroom. She eventually emerged having changed into lingerie that made Logan's jaw drop. It was a black lace bra and panty set. "You like?" she asked.

"Oh yeah," Logan said. "But I like the model best."

Veronica felt a blush creep to her cheeks at Logan's comment as he crossed the room and began to kiss her.

* * *

They were lying in bed that night when Logan said, "Thanks for my birthday dinner."

"You're welcome," Veronica said rolling over onto her stomach but turning to look at him. "I have a present for you," she said.

"I thought I just got one," he said with a smirk.

Veronica got up and grabbed Logan's t-shirt off the floor pulling it on. She went into the living room and returned with a wrapped gift.

"You know as sexy as that lingerie was," Logan said. "You look just as good to me in that t-shirt."

"Well thanks," Veronica said glancing down at the shirt and grinning at him. "Here," she said sitting on the bed next to him and handing him the gift. "It isn't anything big. I just thought you might like it."

Logan smiled at her and tore into the paper. There was a box inside. When he opened it, he saw a black leather bound notebook and beautiful silver pen. "It's great. It will definitely get use." He leaned over and kissed her. "Thank you."

* * *

Logan and Veronica were walking home from being out with Veronica's usual crowd of friends at a bar. Logan had become a permanent feature in the group, and they had invited Katie, the woman from the book reading, and her boyfriend the last couple times they had all gone out. Logan had really hit it off with the guys, particularly Mike. He was now being invited out regularly for guys' nights and to Jack's bi-weekly poker night. He and Mike's deepest bond formed over a mutual love of surfing. Despite them both being Southern California boys, Mike took Logan to some of the good surfing spots nearby, and he had loved it.

"So should we talk about what next week is?" Logan asked as they walked toward a cable car stop.

"I don't know that we need to talk about what it is. But maybe what we are going to do for it?" The following Saturday was October third, the anniversary of Lilly's death.

"It's a Saturday," Logan said. "Should we go home for it?" Veronica actually stopped walking. Logan stopped as well and turned back to face her. "It was just an idea."

"Sorry. Yeah, it's a good idea," Veronica said. "It just kind of shocked me." She continued walking again as did Logan. "Would you be willing to stay at my dad's house? He has been pestering me to come visit for a long time."

"Would he let me sleep inside?" Logan asked.

Veronica laughed. "I'm sure he could be persuaded. The garage at least."

Logan also laughed. "Of course we can stay with your father. I don't have anyone I could stay with other than Dick, and I don't think that sounds all that appealing."

"Yeah, I'd rather not have you at Dick's bachelor pad for a weekend," Veronica said with a smirk.

"Do you not trust me?" Logan said with a fake pout on his face.

Veronica smiled. "No, of course I do. I just don't trust Dick to keep you in one piece. You aren't nineteen anymore."

"Don't I know it," Logan joked. Then, changing his tone, he said, "So we are going back to Neptune."

Veronica sighed. Their joking had taken her mind of what the conversation was really about. "Yeah." She missed Lilly fiercely around this time of year, and she knew Logan did too.

"Hey, it's okay," Logan said picking up on Veronica's mood. "I'm right here." He wrapped his arms around her.

"Thanks. Let's go. You and Mike are going surfing tomorrow, which means you'll be waking me up at an insanely early hour for a weekend."

* * *

Their plane touched down at the San Diego International Airport at 8:15 at night. Keith had offered to pick them up, but Veronica and Logan had decided having a rental car would be helpful during the trip. When they got to the rental car desk, the sales man offered to upgrade their car to something nicer.

Logan's eyebrows went up in excitement. "Could we get a convertible?"

"Of course sir. We have a few models of convertibles available."

"Logan," Veronica said. "We don't need a convertible." Logan was completely not listening to Veronica as he asked the man about a BMW convertible on one of the ad posters. "Logan," Veronica said again assertively.

"Fine. What about the Volvo convertible?" he asked turning back to her. "It'd be a compromise."

"Alright," Veronica finally agreed. "As long as it isn't red or yellow," she said to the man behind the counter.

They ended up in a black convertible that made Logan happy despite the fact that Veronica insisted on driving. Her argument had been that she knew where her father's house was and Logan didn't. He had given in despite saying that it wouldn't have been that hard for her to give him directions. Neptune wasn't that large after all.

As they pulled up in front of the house, Logan asked, "What's his girlfriend's name again? Lisa?"

"No, Linda," Veronica said. Her father had been dating Linda for almost three years. They lived together and seemed perfectly happy. She had asked her father a year ago if he was planning to propose. He had replied that he and Linda saw no need to mess with a good thing.

"Dad, we're here," Veronica called as she opened the front door of the modest house. "Come on in," she said to Logan. He set their bags down by the front door.

"Hi sweetie," Keith said as he hurried down the stairs. "We were just fixing up your room."

"Hi dad," Veronica greeted as he pulled her into a tight hug.

"How was your flight?" Keith asked finally releasing Veronica.

"It was good," Veronica replied. Logan was still standing by the door, unsure how to behave.

A short woman with blonde hair with a few strands of gray running through it had now come down the stairs. "Veronica dear," she said, "I'm so glad you're here."

"Hi Linda. How are you?" Veronica asked giving the woman a hug.

"I'm wonderful. And who might this be?" Linda asked looking at Logan.

"Linda this is my boyfriend, Logan. Logan this is Linda."

"It is nice to meet you," Logan said shaking Linda's hand. He was trying to focus on being polite rather than the fact that Veronica had introduced him as her boyfriend for the first time in eight years.

"You too, Logan. I've heard a lot about you." Logan glanced at Keith with apprehension. "Don't worry it was good," Linda added.

"Hello Logan," Keith finally greeted.

"Hello Mr. Mars," Logan replied shaking his hand.

"Logan, you can call me Keith. You aren't a teenager anymore."

Logan tried to smile but found that he was still feeling very much like a teenager. He didn't feel all that different from the teenage boy Keith had thrown out of their apartment the summer before senior year.

"Do you two kids need something to eat?" Linda asked. "I know that airplanes don't feed you much anymore. You must be hungry."

"Thanks Linda. I'm starving," Veronica replied.

"Oh good, I made you that pasta you liked last time you were here, and we have ice cream for sundaes." Linda put her arm around Veronica and led her into the kitchen.

Logan glanced at the bags by the door. "You can just leave those until after you eat something," Keith said.

"Thanks," Logan said.

"Logan, relax. I'm fine with you and Veronica dating again."

"Really?" Logan asked genuinely.

"Well, about as fine as I would be with her dating anyone," Keith said with a laugh. "I haven't forgotten the past, but then Veronica has always been pretty good at taking care of herself. No matter what you or I thought."

"Very true, sir" Logan said.

"Come on, let's go get you something to eat."

Veronica and Logan ate pasta, and everyone had ice cream sundaes, which Logan learned was a tradition on the first night Veronica was back in Neptune for a visit. After they had finished eating, Linda said, "Let's get you two settled in."

"I figured Logan could sleep on the couch," Keith said.

Linda sighed and said, "Oh Keith, give it a rest. They're twenty-eight years old."

"I'm fine on the couch," Logan said hoping to get on Keith's good side.

"Come on Logan," Linda said. "Grab the bags, and I'll show you to the guest room." She gave Keith a pointed look on her way past him as she led Logan upstairs.

* * *

"You're father is going to come and shoot me during the night," Logan said as he and Veronica were getting ready for bed in the guest room.

"He will not," Veronica said with a smirk. "He'd be worried he might hit me on accident."

Logan laughed. "Seriously though, is he ever going to stop hating me?"

"I told you before, he doesn't hate you," Veronica said emphatically.

"He just doesn't like the idea of me being with you."

"I don't think he likes the idea of anyone being with me." Veronica walked over and wrapped her arms around Logan. "You have an advantage though."

"What's that?" Logan asked.

"My dad wants me to be happy, and being with you makes me happy."

Logan smiled. "It makes me happy, too," he replied kissing her quickly. As they crawled into bed, Logan said, "So, you and Linda seemed to get along pretty well."

"Yeah, at first I wasn't a big fan of him being in a relationship again. It's always hard, but she makes him really happy. She is a really amazing person."

"How did they meet?" Logan asked.

"She came to him with a case. Her brother went missing. Turns out he had run away to elope. Even after the case was solved, Linda would drop by the office a couple times a week and bring lunch for my dad. They built from there."

"That's cute," Logan said with a smile.

"So, I need to tell you something. As it turns out, I think my dad might be the least of your worries this weekend. Wallace is coming for dinner tomorrow night."

"Oh shit," Logan said. "Have you even told him yet?"

Veronica shook her head. When Logan's face dropped, she said, "It isn't that I have been avoiding it. We just haven't talked a lot in the past three months. He has been busy with work."

"It's fine," Logan said lying down. "I understand." The truth was, he did. He knew it had more to do with Veronica not wanting to deal with the fallout than anything about her feelings about him.

Veronica lay down as well, resting her head and one hand on his chest. "I'm glad we came down here," she said. "Are you ready for tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Logan said kissing the top of Veronica's head. "It seems to me it should be easier than the past few years. We'll be together."

Veronica smiled and looked up at Logan. "Yeah," she said. She kissed him quickly on the lips. "Thanks for your efforts with my dad."

"No problem. I love you. It is important to me that he likes me or at the very least tolerates me."

Veronica smiled again. "I love you, too." She kissed him again, deeper this time.

"I'm not having sex with you in your father's house," Logan said breaking off the kiss. Veronica laughed, but simply laid her head back down on Logan's chest.


	12. Chapter 12

Saturday morning, Logan was sitting at the island in the kitchen as Linda made breakfast and Keith read the paper. Veronica was still upstairs showering. "So Logan," Linda began. "Tell me about being an author. It seems like it would be a very interesting career. How did you end up getting into it?"

"Well I wasn't ever a great student. I mean, I could have been," Logan explained. "It was simply a lack of effort on my part. But writing had always come pretty easily to me." Logan looked at Linda who was absorbing everything he said. "Anyway, when I went to college, I spent the first couple years just taking my gen. ed. classes. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I think people expected me to become an actor, like the rest of my family, but I never had any interest in it. Honestly, I spent most my time trying to be as different from my father as possible."

Keith had set down his newspaper to take a sip of his coffee, but he hadn't returned to reading it. He seemed to also be listening to Logan. Logan continued. "Well, so during my sophomore year I took a creative writing class for an English requirement. It seemed I was quite good at it. My professor told me he thought I had a talent and encouraged me to consider creative writing as a major. During senior year, I was actually editor of Hearst's literary publication."

"Veronica never mentioned that," Keith said from the dining table where he was sitting.

"Veronica never knew that," Veronica said walking up to the island and sitting next to Logan. He glanced at her.

"Logan go on," Linda said pulling toast out of the toaster and putting it on a plate.

"During senior year, I also began submitting short stories to some magazines and a few things got published. That gave me enough confidence to keep writing rather than just go into editing or publishing. Luckily, having money allowed me to be able to live comfortably while I was writing my first novel."

"I'd be interesting in reading your books," Linda said. "Veronica says they are very good."

"They are," Veronica jumped in. "Breakfast smells great Linda."

"It's just a frittata and hash browns, nothing big," Linda explained.

"A frittata?" Logan asked surprised.

"Linda is an amazing cook. She thinks that whipping up a five course meal is just a normal daily thing and isn't a big deal."

"Come and eat all of you," Linda said placing the toast and hash browns on the table while Keith grabbed the frittata out of the oven. They all sat down to a very pleasant meal. The breakfast tasted as good as it looked and smelled.

After they had eaten, Veronica and Logan went upstairs to get ready to leave and headed to the cemetery. They stopped and bought flowers on their way.

They stood in front of Lilly's grave for a few moments in complete silence, both staring at her head stone. Then, Logan glanced down at Veronica. She had sporadic tears running down her face. He placed his arm around her shoulders, and she buried her head into his chest. "I still miss her," Veronica said.

"Me too," agreed Logan. After they stood there for a bit longer, Logan added, "Hey I'll give you a minute alone."

Veronica nodded. Logan walked away and sat down on the curb along the roadway. Veronica turned back towards Lilly's grave and sat down cross-legged on the grass. "Hi Lilly." She began to speak to Lilly as if she were sitting with her. Veronica wasn't sure what her opinions were on the afterlife, but she knew it made her feel better to talk to Lilly, so she did. "I really miss you still. I know I talked to you about this a long time ago, but Logan and I are back together again. I really hope that if you were still here you would be happy for us…" Veronica continued to talk to Lilly until Logan walked back over.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. Do you want a minute alone with her?" Veronica asked.

"Sure," Logan replied. Veronica walked over to the same spot where Logan waited. Logan stood just staring at Lilly's headstone for a couple minutes. Then eventually he glanced at Veronica. "I miss you, Lilly," he finally said. Then he stood back up and walked to where Veronica was sitting, waiting. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," she replied reaching up and taking his hand for him to help her up. He pulled her to her feet and into him, where he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and they walked back to the car.

* * *

"I really don't know about this," Logan said. "Maybe I should just go hang out with Dick tonight instead of surfing tomorrow morning."

"Chicken," Veronica teased. They were upstairs in the guest room at Keith and Linda's. Logan was lying on the bed while Veronica changed her clothes for dinner. They were expecting Wallace to arrive in the next few minutes.

"I am chicken. I don't deny it," Logan said. "You know, it'd just be nice if people didn't immediately assume I was going to be an ass." Logan sighed.

"Well, if it looks like a duck…" Veronica said with a smile.

"Are you saying I quack?" Logan asked.

"You might be a small aquatic bird of the family anatidae, but…" she leaned down to kiss him, "you're actually a very sweet duck. Besides, I don't assume you're going to be an ass."

"Anymore…" Logan added.

"True, and other people will follow suit." Veronica checked her hair in the mirror. "Come on, let's go downstairs."

"Like a duck to the slaughter," Logan said sarcastically. "Really, Wallace and your dad?"

"Come on," Veronica said pulling him to his feet and keeping hold of his hand to lead him downstairs.

Keith was sitting on the couch watching a game on TV. "Who's winning?" Veronica asked sitting on the arm of the couch.

"Giants," Keith said in slight disgust. Logan laughed looking at Veronica, who gave him a firm look.

"You're not rooting for the Giants now that you are living in San Francisco, are you Logan?" Keith asked.

"I'm smart enough to just support whoever Veronica does," Logan said with a smirk at Veronica.

"Wise man," Keith said absentmindedly, his attention back on the game.

"Could someone come set the table for me?" Linda called from the kitchen.

Veronica began to get up, but Logan held out his hand and stopped her. "I'll go," he said. "You hang out with your dad." Veronica smiled up at him. He leaned down and kissed her cheek.

Veronica slid from the arm to the seat of the couch next to her father as Logan walked into the kitchen. "How can I help, Linda?" he asked.

"Oh Logan, thank you," Linda said. She handed him a stack of five plates. "Could you put these on the table? Then, there are napkins and silverware over there." Logan placed the plates on the table and returned to the counter for the napkins and silverware. "So are you nervous about tonight?" Linda asked.

"You must have been told some stories," Logan said.

"Just a few," Linda said with a grin at Logan. He sighed. "Don't worry. I usually hear them from Veronica."

"Oh, great. First hand knowledge of all my screw-ups."

"You know, it sounds to me like you are too hard on yourself," Linda said. "Veronica usually shares wonderful stories about you. Don't tell her I said this," Linda added walking over to Logan, "but a couple years ago she told me that she thought breaking up with you was one of the biggest mistakes of her life."

Logan was startled. He never would have expected Veronica to confess something like that to someone. "Really?" he asked in surprise. As Linda opened her mouth to say something else, the doorbell rang. "Ah shit," Logan muttered, then looking at Linda he said, "Sorry."

Veronica glanced at the kitchen as she jumped to her feet to answer the door. "Wallace," she greeted throwing herself into his arms on the porch.

"Hey there, V. How are you?"

"I'm doing pretty well actually. How about you?"

"Excellent. Just got that raise last week."

"Congrats," Veronica said. "I'm so glad you're here. I miss you."

"I miss you, too. So, I hear the guy you are dating currently came down with you this trip," Wallace said.

"Sounds like my dad has a big mouth," Veronica joked. "And yes he came with me."

"Do I get to meet him?" Wallace asked, "Give him a talking to as your best friend?"

"I don't know that you need to do that, but let's go inside anyway."

"Sounds good," Wallace said wrapping an arm around Veronica's shoulder. "Man, it's good to see you."

As they walked inside, Veronica took a deep breath. Keith was on his feet as soon as they entered the house. "Wallace, how are you?"

"Good, Mr. Mars. How about you?"

"I'm good Wallace. It's nice to have you over again. It's been a long time. Linda has been cooking all day to feed you. She says you are always the most grateful," Keith said. "Let's go say hi to her." Keith began to lead Wallace into the kitchen. Veronica caught her father's eye and could tell that he was enjoying this just a little too much. She took another deep breath and followed them into the kitchen.

"Oh Wallace, honey," Linda said giving Wallace a big hug.

When he was released from the hug, Wallace looked at Logan, who was standing with his back against the counter. "Logan?" Wallace greeted curiously.

"Hey Wallace, how are you?" Logan approached him to shake his hand.

"I'm good. What are you…" Wallace trailed off. Then he looked from Logan to Veronica, who was looking at Logan and biting her lip somewhat nervously. Wallace let out a breath that sounded like something between and cough and a laugh. "Uh, Veronica," he said turning to her, "can I talk to you in the other room?"

"We'll just sit down and have some wine while we wait for you two," Linda said urging Keith and Logan to the table while Veronica and Wallace went into the living room.

"Have you completely lost your mind?" Wallace asked.

"Shh, he'll hear you," Veronica said grabbing Wallace's arm and pulling him out onto the porch.

"I really couldn't care less," Wallace said even louder. "Seriously, Veronica, are you insane. How on earth could you possibly think it was a good idea to date Logan Echolls again? After everything he did to you? When did this even happen?"

"About three months ago. He lives in San Francisco now, too. We ran into each other," Veronica explained. She was thankful Wallace was listening at least for now. "It started of just as being friends again, but I guess just being friends never really has worked for Logan and me."

Wallace stared at her in disbelief and shook his head. "I'll ask again, have you lost your mind? After everything?"

"Wallace, what exactly do you think Logan has done to me?"

"Besides being a complete jackass to you for two full years of high school. Oh wait, aside from the time in there where you were…"

"Don't you even think about finishing that sentence," Veronica snapped.

Wallace stopped suddenly as he realized what he had been about to say. "Hey, I'm sorry," he said putting a hand on Veronica's shoulder.

"I love him," she said quietly.

"Yeah, I know." Wallace was calming down now. "I guess I've always known you loved him, even when you hated him."

"And the more I think about it. The more I can see our problems were just as much my fault. I was untrusting, and he was over protective. Really when you think about it, which is worse?"

Wallace had no idea what to say at that point. He wanted to keep yelling at Veronica. He knew Logan had the potential to break her heart, probably because he was the only one who she would let hold it. But, as Veronica stood looking like she might cry, he was at a complete loss. "I'm sorry I yelled," he said. "I just, I know how much he hurt you before with the thing with Madison, and…"

"Please don't," Veronica said quietly cutting Wallace off. It was the one thing about her past with Logan that was still difficult for her to accept.

"I just want you to be happy, V," Wallace said adamantly.

"I am," she said. "I'd be happier if we ate dinner though."

Wallace laughed and gave Veronica a hug before going back inside. He could try to be amiable with Logan for Veronica's sake, but he was sure as hell still going to keep an eye out for her.

They returned to the kitchen where Linda and Keith were engaged in a casual light-hearted conversation and Logan looked exceptionally anxious. Veronica smiled at him as she sat down at the table. "Linda, this smells even better than breakfast," Veronica commented. "Logan, honey, can I have some wine?"

Everyone fell into comfortable conversation. As Logan passed Veronica back her now full wine glass, he leaned in and asked, "Was that for Wallace's benefit or mine?"

"What's that?" Veronica asked puzzled.

"Calling me honey?" Logan whispered.

"Maybe a little of both." She gave him a peck on the cheek before he could lean back.

"So Logan," Wallace asked, "how'd you end up in San Francisco?"

Dinner was actually rather nice. Logan didn't feel as targeted as he had expected. He wondered, at one point, if Veronica and Linda had purposefully sat on either side of him to protect him from the other two men. Veronica would casually rest her hand on his knee when he was getting tense, as if she could tell, and he would immediately relax. Once he got over his initial nerves, he found that he quite enjoyed catching up with Wallace. There had been a time, after all, when he had considered Wallace his friend, too.

"Are you sure you have to go so soon?" Veronica was asking Wallace, as he stood by his car ready to leave.

"Yeah, I have to be back in LA tonight. I'll see you next time you're down though, V." He gave her a big hug. Then he turned to shake Logan's hand. "You know I'll kill you if you hurt her again."

"I think you'll have to get in line," Logan said with a slight laugh. "Perhaps you could all just form a firing squad."

"Seriously though, it was nice to see you again man," Wallace said.

"You too," Logan replied. Wallace hugged Veronica one last time before he got in his car to leave.

Logan pulled Veronica to him as Wallace drove away. They stood on the sidewalk for a moment. "You tired? Or are you up for a small outing?" Logan asked.

Veronica lifted her head from against his chest. "I'm up for something. What'd you have in mind?"

"Something in honor of Lilly," Logan smiled down at her. "Let's go get your jacket."

Fifteen minutes later, Logan pulled the rental car up to the beach, got out, and went to the trunk. Veronica had gotten out of the car and was leaning against the passenger door watching him. "What are you getting?"

"You'll see. We have to get down to the beach first." He took her hand and led her onto the beach. Veronica slid off her shoes and picked them up in the hand not laced with Logan's. "Over here is good," Logan said leading her down a bit farther and sitting down. Out of the bag he had removed from the trunk, he pulled a bottle of champagne.

Veronica laughed. "Champagne on the beach," she said. "That is definitely Lilly." Logan uncorked the bottle, took a swig and passed it to Veronica. "No glasses?" she asked.

"What, afraid you'll get cooties sharing the bottle with me?" Logan asked.

"Yes, boy cooties are so gross," Veronica said in her best little girl voice. Then switching tones she said, "To Lilly," and raised the bottle.

"To Lilly," Logan repeated as Veronica took a sip from the bottle and passed it back to him.

They sat in silence for a few minutes passing the bottle back and forth and staring out at the ocean. "Logan?" Veronica posed.

"Hmm?"

"What do you think she would be doing now?" Veronica asked.

Logan thought for a minute. "Probably living as a wealthy Neptune trophy wife and spreading scandal everywhere she went," he said with a smile. He could almost picture it.

Veronica smiled. She knew they were going off an image of a teenage Lilly, and given the chance, she probably would have grown up and changed. But it was impossible to think of Lilly as being anyone other than who she was.

"She'd probably have two or three kids by now. I bet she would have been that mother who supplied alcohol for the parties and walked around in her bikini, like my mom did."

Veronica laughed again. Then she sighed, as did Logan. They sat in silence again for a minute, passing the bottle between them. It was nearly a third of the way empty. "I've never…. had sex with someone more than five years my senior," Veronica said suddenly as she removed the bottle from her lips.

Logan laughed but took the offered bottle and drank. "I've never been skinning dipping," Logan said pointedly and took a drink. Veronica grabbed the bottle from him and took her own swig. "Really?" he asked. "When?"

"Homecoming, junior year," Veronica said. "I kept thinking about that night." She smiled at Logan. "I've never… Damn this is harder at our age."

"No kidding," Logan said with a laugh. "It was hard for me at sixteen."

"I've never cheated on a boyfriend," Veronica said.

"Definitely never cheated on a boyfriend," Logan said, earning him Veronica's shoulder into his side. Logan still didn't drink. "Never cheated, other than that one kiss. Been cheated on plenty."

Veronica smiled at him sadly. "I thought you were supposed to be a bad boy," she said changing the tone.

"Nahh, that's just an act. Let's see, I've never impersonated a cop," Logan said.

Veronica drank. "I've never set a swimming pool on fire."

"Damn, that one hurts," Logan said taking another drink. "I've never planted fake drug paraphernalia in someone's locker."

Veronica laughed and took her sip. "I've never bashed in someone's headlights."

Logan drank and then said, "I think we got a little off the track of the point of the game."

"Maybe," Veronica said and took a sip. "That was fun though." Veronica fell back onto her back in the sand. She stared up at the stars for a while, thinking about Lilly. "Logan?" she asked eventually.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think that if Lilly had lived, the two of you would have," she paused for a moment, "do you think you would have stayed together?"

"No," Logan said confidently.

"Why not?" Veronica asked turning on her side to look at Logan who was now lying next to her.

"A few reasons. She would have gotten tired of me, I hopefully would have realized I deserved not to be yanked around, and more importantly she wasn't the right girl for me." His last reason was said pointedly, and he looked Veronica in the eyes as he said it. "Do you think you and Duncan…?"

"No," Veronica said just as quickly.

"Why not?"

"Because wanting to love someone doesn't make you love him, and wanting to not love someone doesn't make you stop." Logan leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips. "Let's go back to the house," Veronica said sitting up and pulling Logan with her.

* * *

*_The "looks like a duck..." reference is by Douglas Adams*_


	13. Chapter 13

In the week after they got back from Neptune, Logan had a meeting with his publisher, who wanted to take advantage of Logan's increased popularity. The decision of how to do that suddenly put a high demand on Logan's time. The decision was made that he should do a number of radio interviews, more book readings, some events organized by the publishing company for authors.

Almost a month into this new schedule, when Logan had just gotten back from Sacramento, where he had done a few interviews and a book reading, he was cooking dinner for Veronica at his apartment. She was perched on his kitchen counter snacking on the raw veggies Logan was planning to add to the stir-fry he was making. As Logan was picking up the cutting board to add the veggies to the pan, Veronica snatched two more carrots. Logan began to say something about it, but Veronica popped a carrot into his open mouth instead. He laughed.

They ended up eating in the kitchen, Veronica still sitting on the counter and Logan standing, leaning back next to her. "I have to go away again this weekend, to New York," he told her as they finished eating.

"Again?" Veronica asked. "You've been gone the last two weekends, too."

"I know, but they keep making these plans. It'll help the sales of my next book, too," explained Logan.

"You mean the one you've been too busy to work on because of all this crap?" Veronica asked abruptly.

"Veronica," Logan said in slight annoyance. Veronica jumped down of the counter and walked into the living room. Logan followed her. "Veronica," he repeated in a gentler tone. "I need to do this. It's part of my contract to promote my books." Veronica had flopped down on the couch. Logan sat next to her. "You know, I don't want to be gone this often," he said reaching out to touch her shoulder.

Veronica looked at him. She offered a sad smile. "Yeah," she said. "Sorry, I just miss you with you away so much."

"I know. I miss you too." Logan kissed Veronica's cheek and nudged her until she was leaning against him. "Want to watch a movie?" he asked.

"Sure," responded Veronica. "Can we watch something funny though?"

"Of course," Logan turned on the TV and began to sift through his digital movies on the screen.

* * *

"Hello," Veronica answered her phone distractedly.

"Hey," Logan greeted. It was Friday night, and he had been in New York for only a day. The trip included a party for a group of authors, including himself, and doing interviews and a couple book readings. "I saw that you called. What's up?"

"Just had a hard day," Veronica said. "I wanted to talk to you." Veronica was sitting on her couch. She had been reading until Logan called back.

"What happened?" he asked. He sounded a bit distracted

Veronica sighed. "It was a tough day at work," she said. It was hard to tell if Logan was listening. There was a lot of noise where ever he was; it sounded like a party.

"What happened?" Logan asked.

"Well, you know that case I've been working with the missing children…" Veronica trailed off.

Logan was interrupting her saying, "Hey Veronica. I'm really sorry, but I have to go. I'll call you again later."

"Bye," she said. With that, he hung up the phone. Veronica stared at her phone. She tapped the screen and scrolled to her contacts. "Hey Mac," she said.

"Hi Veronica. Is something wrong?" Mac asked.

"I know I was supposed to come over in the morning, but I was wondering if you'd mind it I crashed at your place tonight?"

"That sounds great."

"Great. Can you pick me up at the BART station by you in about 30 minutes."

"I'll be there. Maybe we can stop and buy ice cream on the way back. I've been having a craving."

Veronica laughed. "I could use some. I'll see you soon."

"Bye," Mac said.

Mac had ended up taking the job in the Bay Area, and had moved just that week. Veronica was going over to help her paint and unpack. She was thrilled to have her friend living back near her.

About an hour later, Veronica and Mac climbed the stairs to Mac's new apartment. They sat down on the couch with spoons and the ice cream tub, deciding to forgo the bowls. "So are you going to tell me what is wrong?" Mac asked.

"Nothing is wrong. I just wanted to hang out tonight," Veronica replied.

"Veronica, I've known you for ten years. I can tell when something is wrong."

Mac passed the ice cream tub back to Veronica, who took another bite before saying, "Logan's gone again."

"Gone as in?" Mac asked clarifying.

"As in out of town. Again," Veronica said. "This is the third weekend in a row. He has been gone almost every weekend since we came back from Neptune." She sighed.

"I'm sorry, but you knew he was going. What changed tonight?"

Veronica took another bite of ice cream. "I called him earlier because I had a bad day at work. He called back later and ended up being too busy to talk to me." Veronica hated how upset she was by the situation. "He sounded like he was out at a bar or something. He sounded like he was having fun."

"Yeah," Mac said understandingly.

"It isn't that I don't want him to have a good time," Veronica explained. "I do. I just wish…"

"He was having it with you?" Mac asked knowingly.

"No just that..." Veronica wasn't sure how to explain how she was feeling.

"Veronica?" Mac asked taking the ice cream back. "Do you trust Logan?"

"Yes," Veronica said automatically. Then she wondered if that was what all this was about.

"Do you really? That was a really quick answer."

"I want to. I don't really know how to trust people like that. It's always been hard for me. I mean he has never really done anything to make me not trust him."

"Besides that it breaks your heart when you guys break-up."

"Yeah," Veronica said. "Anyway, I just didn't want to be alone tonight."

"No problem. I'm glad you came over."

* * *

Veronica didn't hear from Logan until noon on Sunday before he boarded the plane in New York. "Are you still going to meet me at the airport?" he asked when he called.

"Do you want me to still?" she asked in response.

He had said that he did, so that evening Veronica was waiting outside the security boundaries at the San Francisco airport. According to the arrivals screen, Logan's flight had arrived about fifteen minutes before. Veronica was scanning the approaching crowds looking for Logan. When she finally spotted him, her stomach clenched. He was walking with a woman a few years younger than them. She had flowing dark brown hair, long legs, was wearing a fairly skimpy dress, which hugged her curves, and had her arm draped over one of Logan's shoulder. As they continued to walk, the woman leaned in and whispered something in Logan's ear; he laughed. When he saw Veronica, he straightened up, and the woman moved her arm.

"Hey there," he said as he walked up to Veronica and kissed her cheek. The woman followed him. "Veronica, this is Callie. Callie, Veronica."

"Hello," Veronica greeted coldly.

"Nice to meet you," Callie said. "I'll see you Wednesday, Logan." With that, she walked away.

"How are you?" Logan asked as they began to walk toward the exit of the airport.

"Fine. How do you know Callie?" Veronica asked in the same cold voice.

"She does PR in my publisher's office here. She was on the trip to help with the party organization and such."

"Oh," Veronica said simply. "Come on, I need to get home, so I can get some sleep tonight. I've been working long hours lately with that case."

Logan nodded and followed Veronica to the metro station and onto the train. After about five minutes of silence and her hardly responding to his attempts at physical contact, Logan said, "Hey, I'm sorry I couldn't talk to you Friday night."

"You also didn't call me back the whole weekend," she replied.

"I knew you were at Mac's yesterday, and with the time difference, it was kind of hard."

"Sure," Veronica said dismissively.

"Veronica, I'm really sorry. I wasn't trying to ignore you. I wanted to talk to you, too. Do you want to tell me about the case at work?"

"Not really, no." Veronica stood up, as the train pulled into the stop closest to her apartment.

Logan followed her up the stairs, struggling with his bag a bit, and out of the station. "Hey Veronica, I'm trying to apologize. Why are you making it so hard on me?" He reached out and took a hold of her arm gently. "Come on, Veronica," he said turning her toward him. "I missed you." He offered her a smile.

Veronica melted a bit. "I missed you, too." Logan's smile grew and he wrapped both arms around her, letting go of his bag, and pulled her into a deep kiss.

"I missed that, too," Logan said. He wrapped one arm around Veronica and picked his bag up in the other hand. "Let's go. I'm hungry and exhausted."

They walked back to Veronica apartment, and Logan collapsed on the couch almost immediately. "I'll go heat something up for dinner. Left over lasagna okay?" Veronica asked. Logan nodded.

By the time she had reentered the living room Logan had fallen asleep. Looking at him sleeping there, Veronica found it hard to remember why she had been mad at him. She sat down on the edge of the couch next to him. Logan stirred slightly and moved his hand to her knee. "I love you," he mumbled. "…missed you."

Veronica leaned forward and kissed his forehead. "Logan," she said. "You should get up and eat, and then you can go to sleep. You'll wake up hungry in the middle of the night otherwise."

"'kay," Logan replied sleepily and forced himself off the couch. They ate dinner, and after, Logan went to lie down on Veronica's bed. She washed dishes and got things together for work the following day. While she was cleaning up, she found herself wondering about Logan's trip and just what he had done. She had asked at dinner, but he had been very vague. She didn't get another chance to ask him though because by the time she got into the bedroom, he was fast asleep.

In the morning, Veronica woke-up still feeling slightly annoyed with Logan. She was climbing out of bed to get ready and felt his arms wrap around her and pull her towards him. He began to nuzzle and kiss her neck. "Don't get up," he murmured into her hair.

"Logan, I have to go to work," she replied firmly. "Some of us don't just get to go to parties to uphold our contracts." She moved out of his arms and off the bed. Logan was still in bed, though awake, when Veronica was ready to leave. She gave him a quick peck on the lips before she headed out.

* * *

Logan had spent most of Monday wondering at Veronica's attitude that morning. He had been happy to be home with her, but she was acting like he had committed some kind of crime. He had gone home, unpacked, and showered. He had spent some of the day writing, but mainly, he caught up on chores that were falling by the wayside with him being gone so often, grocery shopping and things like that. He waited until he was sure Veronica would be home from work, before showing up at her door with take-out.

"Hey," Logan greeted kissing her cheek as he entered the apartment. "I brought dinner."

"Thanks," Veronica replied. They sat down to eat. About halfway through, Veronica broached the subject of Logan's trip again. "So tell me more about New York."

"I already really told you. I did a couple book readings. They went pretty well. Nobody asked me to sign any books other than mine. I did an interview with that guy from the _Times_; that was very cool, and then there was the party Saturday night."

"What was the party like?" asked Veronica.

Logan took another bite of his dinner casually. He felt like he was walking through land mines. He could tell this wasn't innocent questioning on Veronica's part. "It was fine, not much to tell. Fancy. The kind of thing my parents' would have thrown." When Veronica continued to watch him, he said, "Honestly, I just sat at the bar most of the night and talked to Callie."

Veronica tensed. "Ahh yes, Callie. Well I'm going to clean this up," she said motioning to the food on the table.

"What the hell, Veronica?" Logan remarked as Veronica nearly tore his plate out of his hand as she gathered the food containers and took them to the kitchen. He followed her into the kitchen. "Is this about Callie?" he asked puzzling through Veronica's reaction.

"No. I don't know. Maybe," Veronica rambled.

"What is it?" Logan asked. "Wait, you don't think I…?" He trailed off unable to voice just what Veronica might be thinking. He just stared at Veronica, who looked like she was on the verge of tears. Logan felt his breath catch in his throat as he tried to talk. "Veronica, I would never…" He made a move to touch her, but she pulled back.

"I know you wouldn't," she finally said interrupting him.

"Then what _do_ you think?" Logan asked. Veronica didn't say anything, so Logan tried to urge her on, "Come on Veronica; tell me what you're thinking."

After another moment, she finally said. "I guess I know you wouldn't. I just don't know that you wouldn't want to." Logan stared at her like he had been punched in the stomach. "Seeing the way she was hanging on you when you were walking in the airport, and you were too busy for me all weekend. I just…" she trailed off.

Logan finally seemed to recover from the initial blow of Veronica's words. "I can't believe, after everything, you still don't trust me. What have I ever done to deserve that?"

"It isn't that I don't trust you," Veronica explained.

"It is. You don't trust me. Otherwise you would never think that." Logan turned away from Veronica and dropped his hands to his side. He turned back and opened his mouth, but couldn't think of what to say.

"I just want to know what happened in New York. You were out Friday night, and had that party Saturday. Then you come back, and there's Callie."

"Veronica, it is called trust because you don't always know all the facts. Even if I told you everything I did every moment I was gone, what is to say you'd believe me. I'm not a case, where you can find all the facts and evidence. You have to trust me." Logan's volume and emphasis was increasing.

"That is just hard for me," Veronica said quietly.

"Harder with me. If I were Duncan, we'd never be having this fight," Logan said loudly.


	14. Chapter 14

"_Veronica, it is called trust because you don't always know all the facts. Even if I told you everything I did every moment I was gone, what is to say you'd believe me. I'm not a case, where you can find all the facts and evidence. You have to trust me." Logan's volume and emphasis was increasing_

"_That is just hard for me," Veronica said quietly. _

"_Harder with me. If I were Duncan, we'd never be having this fight," Logan said loudly. _

Veronica stood staring at Logan in silence. She could feel the tears pooling in her eyes but refused to let them fall. "You know I have a point," Logan said.

This idea was not a new one to Veronica, but admitting as much was harder than she thought. She had been considering this since the conversation she had with Mac on Friday. There was some reason why trusting Logan was harder or scarier than trusting Duncan or Piz or any number of other men she had dated.

Logan was fighting the urge to leave. If he wanted things to work with Veronica in the long run, they had to resolve this fight. They had had it too many times before not to. "Veronica?" he asked.

"It is scarier," she finally said matter-of-factly. "It's scarier with you."

"What do you mean, scarier?" Logan asked. He had no idea where this was coming from. Veronica was biting her lip and avoiding eye contact. "Veronica, talk to me. If we don't tell each other the truth now, this will never work."

"Mac said the other night that it breaks my heart when we break-up. She was right. It does. It has," she said in almost a whisper.

Logan nodded. "Yeah, mine too," he said.

"Well, with like Piz I was never that worried. If he had done something like cheat on me, we would have just broken up. I mean I would have been hurt and upset I'm sure, but…" she broke off for a moment trying to find the words. "If you did, I don't know if I would recover."

Logan was startled. He had never once considered the fact that Veronica's apparent lack of trust was actually a sign of how much she loved him. Veronica continued, "It worries me. When I see you with someone like Callie, all I can think is how much it would hurt if I found out… well, that something happened." Veronica sighed and let go of the final thought she was holding in. "It would be like with Madison all over again."

Logan again felt like he had been punched in the gut. He sighed. "I can't spend the rest of my life apologizing for that. I was nineteen years old, and we were broken up."

"I know, but…" Veronica worked through how to explain. "Duncan left me to go raise a child he had with another girl. And even that, didn't hurt as much as finding out you had slept with Madison."

Logan took a moment to process this information. "You're going to just have to believe me when I say I would never do anything like that to you. Veronica, I love you." He sighed and repeated, "I love you."

Veronica winced, almost like hearing that was painful at the moment. "I love you, too," she finally responded still not looking at Logan.

He walked over to her and hugged her. "Believe me, I would never intentionally hurt you. Can you trust me, please?"

She nodded against his chest. "Yeah. I can try my best."

"That's all I can ask for," Logan said kissing the top of her head.

* * *

"Veronica, it is fine. Relax and come watch the movie," Logan said from the couch as Veronica went back to the kitchen for the seventh time that evening.

"Hold on, I just want to count how many things I have that could work as serving dishes." She returned to the couch, but instead of putting her focus on the movie, she picked up the notepad she had been writing on before. "I think I'll need three more dishes or maybe four." She started to count something on the pad. "What I don't know is how I'll cook it all at once."

Instead of going to Neptune, as she usually did, Veronica had agreed to take on Thanksgiving. Her father and Linda were coming up and Mac, Leslie and Jack, Holly, and Mike and Juliana were coming over for the dinner. Now just five days before, Veronica was wondering if it had been a huge mistake. Her place was not equipped for ten people, and her kitchen was definitely not equipped for cooking as many dishes as she needed to.

"Can I start the movie again?" Logan asked.

"Wait, just one more thing." Veronica jumped up again and went back to the kitchen.

"Veronica," Logan said when she came back into the room and started looking through a cabinet in her dining room. When she didn't respond he said louder, "'Ronica!"

"Yeah?" she asked distractedly.

"I have a solution to all this." Logan stood up and walking into the dining room. "Why don't we do Thanksgiving at my apartment. The dining area is bigger. There is more space in the kitchen. Plus, I actually have an extra bedroom where your dad and Linda can stay."

At first, Veronica didn't say anything, but she stopped and looked at Logan. She seemed to be working through it. "You're sure?"

"Why not?" Logan asked. It simply seemed logical to him.

"Well, then it is like we are hosting it together, as a couple. That seems like a step or something."

Logan laughed. Leave it to Veronica to find something complicated in his simple solution to a problem. "I guess it could be. Doesn't bother me if it is." Veronica looked back down at the notepad, weighing the benefits of easing Thanksgiving with taking the step. "Does it bother you?" Logan asked.

She looked up. Logan thought she looked like she was actually deciding. "No, I guess it doesn't."

"So, we'll have it at my apartment?" Logan asked.

"Yeah," Veronica agreed.

"So we can watch the movie now?"

"Yeah. Go ahead and start it again." She leaned back against the couch with her side against Logan.

* * *

The day before Thanksgiving came very quickly, and Logan found himself at the airport waiting to meet Keith and Linda. They had a flight that landed mid-afternoon on Wednesday while Veronica was still at work. Logan spotted Keith and Linda walking toward him and straightened up from where he had been leaning against the wall.

"Hello Logan," Keith greeted.

"Logan, darling," Linda said pulling him into a tight hug.

"How was the flight?" Logan asked.

"Oh, I just hate flying," Linda said. "But it was worth it to come see you and Veronica. I'm so excited for tomorrow. How is Veronica feeling?"

"She is a bit nervous," Logan said. "She is very happy you guys were able to come up, though."

"I hear we are staying at your apartment, Logan," Keith said.

"That is the plan. It is a little better set up for as many people as we will have. I, also, have an extra bedroom, so the living room won't have to double as sleeping quarters."

"Well it is nice of you to open up your place," Keith said.

"Of course, it is my pleasure. I am looking forward to the holiday, too. It'll be the first one I've really celebrated since my parents died," Logan explained. He picked up Linda's bag for her.

Linda rested a hand on Logan's arm gently. "I'm glad we get to join you for it. I remember the first Thanksgiving I hosted…" Linda said. She continued the story as Logan led them out of the airport and to a cab.

The ride to Logan's apartment was actually fairly comfortable. Logan couldn't tell if it was Linda's presence, but he did not feel quite as uncomfortable with Keith as he had in Neptune. Home court advantage perhaps, he thought.

Once they got to the apartment, Logan showed Keith and Linda to the guest room. It had been very sparsely decorated until two days before, when Veronica had dragged him to the store to buy things to add to the room to make it homier. It now had a nice black, white, and gray theme with a striped comforter, some of Veronica's photos she gave him, and silver and black lamps and picture frames. "Feel free to unpack," Logan said motioning to a new black dresser. "The dresser and closet are empty."

"Thank you Logan. This is lovely," Linda said.

"I'll give you a minute," Logan replied leaving the room. Keith emerged from the bedroom just a couple minutes later. "Can I get you anything?" Logan asked. "A beer, glass of wine, soda, water? Veronica will be home soon, and we thought we could go out to dinner."

"A beer would be great," Keith said. "I am assuming we'll walk to dinner."

"Yeah, I still don't have a car. I don't know if I'll get one though. It is pretty easy to get around here without it," Logan explained as he opened Keith's beer. "Would Linda like something?"

"She is taking a moment to unpack. I think she is still settling herself from the flight. She wasn't kidding when she said she hated flying."

"I understand. So…" Logan began but stopped.

"You know Logan. I owe you an apology," Keith said. He wanted to say this to Logan while it was only the two of them, and he didn't know if that would happen again.

"I'm sorry?" Logan asked shocked. It was the last thing he had expected to hear from Keith.

"I never really gave you any credit for growing up. I think I always assumed you would be that 16-year-old boy who I had to haul home drunk over and over. I should have realized it once you were in college. It was obvious then how much you loved my daughter, and I still always acted like you were around for the wrong reasons, or worse, that you were somehow the wrong guy to have be around."

Logan stared at Keith in disbelief. "Mr. Mars, it is fine. I can imagine, as a father with a daughter, all you want to do is protect her. With a daughter like Veronica, that would be even more of a challenge. A guy like me hanging around couldn't have helped."

"You really have grown up." Keith smiled at Logan. "You were always working just as hard as I was to protect her, though."

"Well, I guess that is kind of why I get it. I know how protective I feel of her, and I know she can take care of herself. I can't imagine if we… I have a daughter." Logan realized the slip he had made but was hoping he had recovered quickly enough for Keith not to notice.

Keith had of course discerned the comment, and the slight panicked look on Logan's face made the moment priceless. "Oh you'll be a wreck," Keith said. "And I don't mind if you use that "we" as long as there is a ring on her finger first."

Logan laughed nervously. "There would be, if I had anything to say about it. Could you not tell her about that slip there, though?"

"Worried she'll run for the hills?" Keith asked.

"I…" Logan was cut off when the door to the apartment opened and Veronica came in.

"Hey Papa," she said greeting her father and kissing his cheek.

"Hi Sweetheart. How was work?" Keith asked.

"Better than last week," Veronica replied. "Hi to you, too," she said to Logan also kissing his cheek. "Where is Linda?"

"Unpacking," Keith answered.

Veronica nodded and took a sip of Logan's beer. "Why are you two acting weird?"

"We aren't," Logan said quickly.

"Mmhmm," Veronica said doubtfully.

"I thought I heard you," Linda said coming out of the bedroom. She gave Veronica a big hug. "I'm so excited for tomorrow. I hope you'll let me help."

"Are you kidding? I'm counting on it."

"Are we ready to go get dinner?" Logan asked.

"I'll just go change," Veronica said grabbing her messenger bag from by the door and going into Logan's room. She had brought a bag over to Logan's the night before, so she would have everything she needed for the long weekend. She returned a few minutes later wearing dark jeans, a black sweater, and black boots. Linda had also gone to change into something fresh that didn't smell like airplane, as she said.

They ended up going to Veronica and Logan's favorite Italian place in the neighborhood after Linda said she was craving pasta. The dinner was wonderful. Keith and Logan grabbed for the bill at the same time. Logan ceded when Keith looked at him firmly. Usually, Logan would have insisted on paying, but he sensed Keith would feel better getting to be in the supporter role.

They walked back a long route to show Linda and Keith some of the neighborhood. When they got home, Veronica and Linda disappeared to the kitchen to begin prepping for dinner the next day. Keith and Logan were left alone. "Want to play cards?" Logan finally asked. He was unsure what to do with Veronica's father. They ended up playing poker for change until the women were done cooking. Then, they said goodnights and went off to bed.

"So what were you and my father talking about when I got here tonight?" Veronica asked as they were getting into bed.

"Nothing," Logan said. "Well, he was apologizing to me actually."

"Really?" Veronica asked, shocked.

"Yeah. It surprised me too," Logan said. "It actually doesn't seem like he has a problem with this." He motioned between them to indicate what "this" meant.

Veronica gave a small smile. "I guess he finally accepted that I was never going to go live in a convent."

"Thank god for that," Logan said leaning forward to kiss her. "Night" he said as Veronica rolled to face away from him and then scooted back so he was cuddling her from behind.

"Goodnight," she responded, "love you."

He kissed her head once and said, "You too."


	15. Chapter 15

The alarm went off much too early for Veronica's liking on Thanksgiving. It was one thing to get up for work, but getting up early to cook a meal was too much for her. Logan had attempted to get up with her, but she told him to stay in bed. "No, I should help," he argued.

"Get sleep. At least one of us should." She kissed his cheek and rolled out of bed.

Linda was already in the kitchen when she got in there. "Hello," Linda greeted cheerily.

"Mornin'" Veronica said feeling still half asleep. She made her way to the coffee maker, which she was glad to see was already brewing. "You made coffee," she said to Linda. "Thank you."

"Of course. I needed some, too," Linda responded. "I was just going to start the stuffing."

"Great. I'll start chopping stuff. Maybe if we get this going we can go back to bed for a bit."

Linda laughed. "Definitely."

By the time Veronica and Linda had the stuffing done and the turkey in the oven, Keith had ventured out of the bedroom, but Logan had yet to be seen. Veronica left her father and Linda at the dining room table with their coffee and a small breakfast. She slipped back into Logan's bedroom. Logan was half awake. Veronica slipped her jeans off and crawled back into bed with him. "Mmm," Logan murmured against her head as he pulled her toward him and kissed her. "Turkey in?" he asked.

"Stuffed and in the oven," Veronica replied. "My dad and Linda are having breakfast."

Logan shoved an arm under his head. "Should I get up?" he asked.

"I think they'll be fine for a while. I thought we could just lie here for a bit. I need to close my eyes for a couple minutes." Veronica closed her eyes and rolled to her back. Logan brushed lose hair from her face and continued to run his fingers through her hair. Veronica let out a relaxed sigh. "Can you just keep doing that forever?"

Logan smiled. "That might be able to be arranged."

Ten minutes later, Veronica said, "I guess we should get up. Linda and I need to do a couple more dishes before everyone gets here." She rolled onto her side and looked at Logan.

"Hold on, there is one thing I need to do before we get up," he said. He grabbed hold of her face and kissed her deeply rolling her over onto her back.

Veronica was out of breath by the time she and Logan broke apart. "What was that for?" she asked.

"Well, we probably won't be alone all day," he explained. "I needed something to get my through." Veronica smiled. "Thanks for having Thanksgiving with me," Logan added.

Veronica kissed him quickly. "Thank you. Let's get up." She sat up and pulled her jeans back on.

* * *

By two o'clock, Veronica and Linda had everything settled. Logan had helped make a roasted vegetable dish when he wasn't watching football with Keith and attempting to bond. When Veronica had disappeared into the bedroom to change, Logan turned to Keith and said, "Mr. Mars can I asked you a question?"

"Logan, I was serious about you calling me Keith. What's the question?"

"Well sir…" Keith rolled his eyes at the address. "This is kind of a sensitive subject," Logan said. Keith nodded to indicate Logan should continue. "Well Veronica hasn't mentioned anything about it, and I don't want to upset her. Has she heard anything from her mother since college?"

Keith looked sad and shook his head saying, "No, she hasn't. I think she has assumed she won't again."

Logan nodded sadly. He didn't understand how her mother could have cast Veronica aside in such away. He had always assumed she would eventually realize her mistake. Veronica slipped from the bedroom to the bathroom having changed her clothes, and Logan looked at Keith and said, "I guess that is the sign we should change into nicer clothes."

Veronica had decided that she wanted to do something a little nicer for Thanksgiving. At first, Logan had been thrown. He had assumed that Veronica would want to go casual, but then he realized there was something from her childhood that she was trying to recapture. It was what had prompted his question to Keith.

"I'd say so," Keith replied, "I think Linda already went to change, too." The two men went to change their clothes as well.

Logan had put on dark taupe dress pants and a brownish gray colored dress shirt with white and light blue stripes. He was contemplating a tie when Veronica reentered the room. "No tie," she said sliding up behind him and wrapping her arms around him from behind.

He spun around to face her. "Damn," he said. "Are you sure other people need to come over tonight?" Veronica was wearing a soft red colored strapless dress with cream flowers embroidered along the top and the hem. She had clearly been in the bathroom curling her hair, as it now fell in gently curls around her shoulders.

"Yes," she replied. "I didn't cook all day for it to just get cold."

"Are you going to put the apron back on to finish getting everything ready?" Logan asked raising his eyebrows.

"Yes," Veronica said with a laugh. "I'm not ruining my new dress. But remember, my dad is still here."

"Shame," Logan said kissing her. When they broke apart Veronica began to move away but Logan pulled her back and kissed her cheek quickly. "Hold on, I have something for you." He went and opened a drawer in his dresser. He pulled out a jewelry box. "Here," he said. Veronica looked at the velvet box in slight panic. "Calm down," Logan said with a smile. "It isn't a ring."

Veronica laughed. Logan had broken the tension perfectly. "Well thanks," she said and snapped the box open. Inside of it was a gold chain with a simple gold circle hanging from it. Veronica smiled. "It's beautiful Logan," she said. "Thanks, but what is it for?"

"Thanksgiving?" he asked.

"Not normally a gift kind of holiday," Veronica said, but she continued to smile at the necklace.

"Okay, well because I saw it and thought of you," Logan said trying another approach. He removed the necklace from the box and put it around her neck, clasping it from behind. "Let's get out there." Logan nodded toward the door.

Linda and Keith had also changed. Keith was wearing black pants and a simple white dress shirt. Like Logan, he had forgone a tie. Linda was wearing a blue and white floral blouse and black dress pants. Veronica went to check on the turkey and put some of the dishes that needed to be warmed up a bit in the convection oven. The superior kitchen set up at Logan's had definitely made it the perfect place to make Thanksgiving dinner.

While Veronica was in the kitchen, there was a knock at the door. Logan got to his feet from where he and Keith had resumed their football watching. Leslie, Jack, and Holly were at the door. Logan greeted them and invited them in. "This is Leslie, she works with Veronica, Jack, her husband, and his sister, Holly," Logan said introducing them to Keith and Linda. "And this is Keith, Veronica's father, and Linda." Everyone shook hands. Veronica came in from the kitchen, shedding her apron, and greeted everyone. Just as they were getting settled, there was another knock. Veronica went to the door this time and returned joined by Mac, who was introduced to Veronica's other friends. She already knew Linda, and was of course, greeted very warmly by her and Keith.

Mike and Juliana showed up about fifteen minutes later. Logan began offering people wine, and Veronica and Linda returned to the kitchen to check on finishing touches. Soon, Mac and Leslie joined them in the kitchen while everyone else watched the football game.

Around four, everything was ready for dinner, and they settled down at the dining table. Keith coached Logan through carving the turkey. The dinner consisted of the turkey, dish of roasted root vegetables, mashed-potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, and asparagus. Logan noticed that Veronica wasn't eating initially but was looking around to see if other people seemed to be enjoying it. He placed and hand on her knee and ran circles with his thumb. "This is great," he said smiling at her and taking another bite of turkey. She offered him a relieved smile, and soon, everyone was complimenting her and Linda on a great meal.

After dinner, they brought out pumpkin and pecan pies and some vanilla ice cream and placed it on the buffet where people could self-serve. "I once heard that the scent of pumpkin pie was supposed to be one of the biggest turn-ons for men," Mac said with a laugh as she caught Logan trying to kiss Veronica's neck from behind her, while he thought nobody was looking.

Logan and Veronica both laughed. "The apron doesn't hurt either," Logan said quietly enough he hoped Keith wouldn't hear and wrapped his arms around Veronica's waist. Most of the guys were moving back to the living room where they turned the game back on. Juliana, who was a huge football fan, joined them, but Logan lingered in the dining room for a while longer. He sat down with Veronica, Leslie, Holly, Linda, and Mac. He had scooted his chair over closer to Veronica and kept an arm around her.

When Logan finally left the table, Holly said, "You guys are just disgustingly adorable."

"Really?" Veronica asked. She had never thought about being that kind of couple with Logan.

"It's sweet," Leslie said.

"You only say that because you're happily married," Holly said. "Mac, you're single right? Back me up here."

Mac laughed. "I agree, but I was witness to Veronica and Logan versions one and two as well. The nauseatingly cute is always balanced by an appropriate amount of banter."

Everyone laughed. They had already had a decent demonstration of Logan and Veronica's banter at dinner. "So I brought something kind of fun," Leslie said going to her purse and pulling out box of conversation starters. "I got them for my birthday last year. It's good the guys have gone to watch football; these are the "girls night out" ones."

They laughed and Veronica said, "Something tells me that we will need another bottle of wine." She got up and grabbed a bottle off Logan's bar.

"Okay, Mac you draw one first," Leslie said passing the box to Mac.

"Alright," Mac pulled the card out and read it aloud. "What is the worst date you ever had?"

"Oh my," Holly said. "There was that guy who didn't know how to tip and tried to leave fifty cents on a fifty dollar tab."

They all laughed and Leslie said, "Mine was actually with Jack, but he redeemed himself on the next date."

"Good thing you gave him another date," Veronica said. "Mine was probably in college with this guy who was just trying to find out if all the rumors he had heard about me were true."

"I once had a date go hit on another woman at the bar while we were out to dinner," Linda said.

Mac simply passed the box along. Veronica pulled the next card. "Would you go topless at a topless beach?" Holly, Linda, and Veronica agreed they would, depending on how many people around they would actually see again, and Mac and Leslie said absolutely not.

They continued to draw cards and drank their way through another bottle and a half of wine. Juliana eventually joined them. She drew a card that asked, "What is the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to you?"

"Jack's proposal," Leslie said. She didn't go into any more detail.

"I was told that all the bad things that happened to him romantically were okay because they allowed him to find me," Linda said with a smile. From her reaction, Veronica assumed it had been her father.

"I had a guy tell me that he saw fireworks when we kissed," Holly replied.

Mac said, "My ex-boyfriend said he thought I was the smartest person he ever met. That was romantic to me."

They all looked at Veronica. "Being told that he thought what we had was epic," she answered.

The guys had turned off the TV and were returning to the dining room. As Logan came up behind her, Veronica wondered if he had heard her.

"We should probably get going," Mike said to Juliana.

"Yeah, we should too," Leslie agreed.

They all got up and said their goodbyes. Mac waited a little while before leaving. "Are you sure you don't want to stay the night?" Veronica asked.

"No. I'm fine. I'll sleep better at home," Mac said.

"Okay, drive safely, and text me when you get home." Veronica gave her a hug.

"Of course," Mac replied and gave Logan, Keith, and Linda all hugs as well.

After Mac left, Logan told Veronica and Linda to relax and he and Keith cleaned up the kitchen. Linda and Veronica sat on the couch finishing off the remaining wine.

"So, was it Logan who said the thing about being epic to you?" Linda asked. Veronica looked at her surprised. "You get this look on face when you talk about Logan. You had it when you said that," Linda explained.

Veronica nodded. "Yeah, it was," she said, "but he doesn't remember saying it. It was at the prom party thing he threw our senior year of high school."

Linda smiled knowingly. "You know, Veronica, just because he doesn't remember doesn't mean that he didn't mean it. He probably wouldn't have said it if he didn't."

Veronica thought about this. She knew Logan loved her, and as she figured, that should be enough. Logan and Keith returned from the kitchen with their shirts soaked in the front from hand washing a large number of dishes.

"Bedtime?" Keith asked Linda.

"Definitely," she responded. "Night kids." She kissed both Veronica and Logan on the cheek.

Keith gave Veronica a kiss and patted Logan's shoulder. "Goodnight and happy Thanksgiving," he said.

Logan flopped onto the couch next to Veronica. "You know, there might not have been much bloodshed, but I'd say we managed the spanning years part pretty well…"

Veronica looked at him puzzled. "What?"

"I still believe we are epic," Logan said matter-of-factly.

Veronica stared at him and said, "I thought you didn't remember saying that."

"It came back to me later that following day."

Veronica looked shocked. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I never knew how to. But I do still believe it."

"Me too," Veronica said, and they leaned in and kissed each other passionately. Veronica shifted her body, so she was straddling Logan, who broke the kiss and glanced at the guest room door. "It's fine," Veronica said kissing him again. Logan accepted this and moved so he and Veronica were both standing. He walked them to his bedroom wrapping his arms tightly around her and continuing the kiss.


	16. Chapter 16

Friday morning after Thanksgiving, Veronica had to go into work for a bit. Logan, Keith, and Linda met her downtown for a late lunch when she was done. They immediately regretted being out with all of the Black Friday shoppers. They spent the rest of the day back at Logan's. Saturday they ventured back out into the city, and Logan finally got his chance to play tour guide.

Linda had never been to San Francisco before, and when they got back to Logan's apartment, she said, "That was such a wonderful day. This is a great city."

"I'm glad you enjoyed today," Veronica said.

"Oh, I did. I am so glad that we were able to come up and see you kids this weekend," Linda replied giving Veronica a hug.

"Should we order delivery for dinner or eat leftovers again?" Logan asked coming out of the kitchen, where he had been assessing the food situation. "I think we still have enough turkey to feed a small country."

"I think I might be up for a meal that doesn't include turkey," Keith said. "Maybe some Chinese."

"Oh, there is a great Chinese place down the street that delivers," Veronica said enthusiastically. They all agreed on Chinese food, and Logan called in the order. After they ate dinner, Logan and Veronica went with Keith and Linda to the airport. They had been able to save some money by flying out late Saturday night rather than Sunday.

When the cab pulled up at the departures entrance of the airport, Logan and Keith got the bags while Veronica and Linda went inside to check them in at the automated ticket machine. As they walked to the security checkpoint, Keith wrapped his arms around his daughter. "It was great to see you," Keith said. "That was a great Thanksgiving."

"Thanks dad. I love you." Veronica gave him a hug. "I'm so glad you came up." She turned and hugged Linda as well.

"Thank you dear," Linda said. "And Logan, thanks for being such a gracious host."

"Oh not a problem," Logan said as Linda hugged him as well. "I enjoyed it, too."

"Are you going to be coming down with Veronica for Christmas this year?" Linda asked.

"Oh uh, I don't know," Logan replied. He glanced at Veronica who was saying goodbye to her father again.

"What don't you know?" Veronica asked not having really heard Linda's question.

"I was just asking Logan if he was joining us for Christmas this year," Linda stated.

"Oh, well we hadn't really talked about it." Veronica looked at Logan, who was looking at her questioningly. "But yeah."

"Oh good," Linda said. "So we will see the two of you again in about a month." Linda hugged them each again.

Keith also offered Veronica another hug. "I love you, sweetheart." He then shook Logan's hand. "Good to see you, Logan."

"You too, Keith," Logan replied offering a hesitant smile. Keith smiled back as he and Linda turned to walk through security.

When Logan and Veronica got back to his apartment, he said, "So about Christmas…"

"You don't have to come. I don't know what you were planning. Surfing or skiing or something," Veronica said.

"No, I…" Logan began. "I think I am a little old for that kind of a holiday. I really enjoyed Thanksgiving."

"Yeah, me too," Veronica said.

"I'd like to have Christmas with you, too," Logan said. "If you are okay with me coming that is."

"I am." Veronica kissed him. "Come on. Let's go to bed."

"Don't have to ask me twice," Logan said kissing her intently.

Laying in bed later that night, Logan watched Veronica dig through her bag of clothes. "Maybe you should unpack your stuff," Logan said.

"That doesn't make any sense," Veronica said. "I'd just have to pack them up again to take them home tomorrow or whenever." She stopped and looked at him.

"Well I was actually thinking maybe it would be good if you have some stuff here," Logan said. "There is an empty drawer in the dresser and plenty of room in the closet."

"Really?" Veronica asked with a small smile.

"Yeah, why not?"

"Well, okay," Veronica replied. She opened the drawer of the dresser and emptied the contents of her bag into it. Then after pulling on the tank top and pajama pants she had been looking through her bag for, she went back and sat down on the bed with Logan. "Thanks," she said.

"No problem," he replied kissing her.

* * *

A week after Thanksgiving, Veronica was rummaging through Logan's kitchen looking for a pot to use for the dinner she was cooking. Logan was at a meeting with his publisher. She finally found the pot and pulled it out of the cupboard.

"Honey, I'm home," Logan called lightheartedly. He entered the kitchen and added, "Ah, just where I like my woman, in the kitchen."

"As long as I get to keep my shoes on," Veronica said cheekily.

"I'll consider it," Logan said coming over to kiss her.

Veronica turned down the burner on the pasta she was cooking. "So how was your meeting?"

"It was fine," Logan answered.

"You don't have to go away again, do you?" Veronica asked pulling a salad out of the refrigerator.

"I have to go to Palo Alto and Sonoma next week, but those are easy day trips." Logan smiled at Veronica. "Speaking of which, are you busy Saturday?"

"I'd thought about finishing my Christmas shopping, but other than that no. Why?"

"The publishing company is having a holiday party," Logan said. "I thought you could come with me."

"Yeah, sounds good." Veronica turned off the stove. "Dinner is ready."

"Looks great," Logan replied taking a dish from her.

* * *

After Christmas shopping on Saturday, Veronica was back at her own apartment getting ready for the party. She hadn't told Logan, but she bought a new dress for the party while she was shopping that day. It was knee length and white with a black silk band around the waist. She was wearing her hair up in a loose bun and had a black headband on. She was just putting on her lipstick when Logan rang the buzzer. She buzzed him in, unlocked the door, and went back to the bathroom to finish up her makeup.

"Veronica, you ready?" asked Logan as he entered the apartment.

"Nearly, I just need to finish my make-up," Veronica replied from the bathroom.

"Okay." Logan sat down on the couch to wait. "Wow," he said when she emerged. "You look great."

"You too," she replied. He was wearing a dark suit and green shirt, which was bringing out the green specks in his eyes. "Alright, lets go."

The party was at one of the hotels on Nob Hill. Logan and Veronica got off the elevator to a hallway with large windows, which offered a view of the city. They found there way to a ballroom with elegant decorations. There was a dance floor set up near the far wall and a bar in the opposite corner.

"So is there going to be anyone famous here for me to meet?" Veronica asked as they entered the room.

"Not that I know of. I guess it depends on how well you know the literary scene."

"I can't say that it is really my crowd," Veronica replied dryly.

"Here is someone you can meet," Logan said. "Mrs. Anderson, how are you?" Logan shook the hand of a woman who looked to be in her mid-fifties."

"I'm well, Logan. And please out of the office call me Caroline." She smiled at Logan and Veronica. "'Mrs. Anderson' just makes me feel even older than I am." Turning to Veronica she asked Logan, "And who is this?"

"This is my girlfriend Veronica. Veronica, this is Caroline Anderson. She is an acquisition editor."

"Nice to meet you Caroline," Veronica said shaking her hand.

"You as well," Caroline responded. "Oh, there is my husband. He went to get us drinks and seems to have been pulled into a conversation. I will see you later I'm sure."

"She seems nice," Veronica said.

"She is. Caroline actually is one of the people who really helped out with getting my first book published. She really went to bat for me," Logan said with a smile. "Do you want a drink?"

"Sure. Martini?" Veronica said. Logan slipped over to the bar, and Veronica remained somewhat uncertainly in place.

"Are you Veronica?" A man in what looked to be a very expensive suit asked her.

"Yes," Veronica replied glancing toward the bar for Logan.

"I am James Harline," the man said.

"Oh, you're Logan's editor," Veronica replied.

"Yes, for the moment. Logan has told me a great deal about you. Seems you are quite the muse for him."

"Hi James," Logan greeted handing Veronica her martini and shaking James' hand. "I didn't know you were going to be here tonight."

"I wasn't actually planning on it, but you know, I must wine and dine some of these new fickle authors. They can't all be you, Logan," he said with a smile. "We love this guy here," he said turning toward Veronica. "One who still actually writes for the art rather than the prestige or promise of money. They all want to be John Grisham now, and then they blame us when they aren't making millions." James laughed.

After a few more minutes of talking with Logan and Veronica, James moved to the other side of the room, apparently to charm some newly signed author. "He's a character," Veronica said.

"Yes he is," Logan agreed. "He is actually a great guy. Should we go find a place to sit down?"

"Sure." Veronica let Logan lead her over to a table with his hand on the small of her back. Logan found them a table with a group of people he knew decently well, a few people from the publishing house as well as some other authors. As people began to filter off to dance or mingle later on in the evening, Veronica noticed her drink was empty. "I'm going to get another drink," she said.

"Do you want me to get it for you?" asked Logan quickly.

"No. I'm fine." She got up and moved to the bar. There was a small line, so she waited patiently. Glancing back to where Logan was sitting, she saw a familiar person join him. It was Callie, the woman who had been with Logan in New York, the cause of their fight just after he had gotten back.

Callie was wearing a floor length red silk dress with a slit in the skirt that ran all the way to her thigh and a plunging neckline. As she sat down in the seat Veronica had just vacated, she rested her hand on Logan's and laughed at something he must have said. Veronica swallowed at the prickling feeling running up her spine. She took a deep breath reminding herself she had promised to trust Logan.

The bartender turned to take her drink order, and Veronica asked for another martini. She began working out what she would say to Callie upon getting back to the table. The bartender handed her the drink, and just as she was turning to head back toward Logan, a man stepped in front of her. He looked to be about thirty and was very attractive. "Hey," he said. "I'm Steven. I know this sounds totally lame, but I saw you in line and just had to give this a shot."

Veronica laughed and said, "Veronica." She was about to say that she was here with her boyfriend, but then she glanced at the table where Callie's hand was now on Logan's upper arm.

Logan looked around for Veronica. Callie had come over nearly instantly when Veronica had gotten up. He had been waiting for Veronica to come back ever since. As he looked around his eyes fell on Veronica, she was standing near the bar and talking to a man. "Logan, do you want to dance?" Callie asked casually. Logan stared hard for a moment at Veronica weighing his choices.

"The FBI. That's hot," Steven said. "So let's go find a place to talk," he added a bit more assertively.

"Oh, I don't think so. I should actually be getting back to my boyfriend," Veronica said. The conversation with Steven had taken an odd turn. At first, he had seemed like a nice normal guy and a little bit of flirting and maybe making Logan a bit jealous hadn't seemed like a bad idea. Now, he was being pushy in a way that was making her extremely uncomfortable.

"You can't pull that line on me. You aren't here with a boyfriend. I won't fall for that one." He had now taken a hold of her arm and was attempting to lead her somewhere.

"Excuse me." Steven felt someone grab the back of his arm. "I think you need to let go of her now." When Steven turned around he came face to face with a very annoyed looking Logan. "Now," Logan repeated.

"Okay, fine." Steven released Veronica arm, and she took a deep breath and smiled slightly at Logan. Steven straightened his jacket sleeves and walked away.

Veronica looked at Logan with an embarrassed smile. "Thanks," she said. "I…" She suddenly realized the flaw in the idea of making Logan jealous. Aside from the guy being a complete jerk, she had actually done something worthy of Logan being jealous. She had done something to hurt him. And worse, she had done it intentionally.

"What were you thinking Veronica?" he asked in a quiet but very annoyed tone.

She bit her lip, but then looking up, she saw Callie walking toward them. "I was thinking if you were having a nice chat with someone else it was fine for me to as well." She had kept her eyes on Callie the whole time she said it.

"What are you…" Logan followed Veronica's line of sight. "God Veronica. This again?" She just stared at him, her eyes not giving anything away. "Come on." Logan grabbed Veronica's arm and led her out of the room.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Where we can talk." Logan released her arm when they had made it to the far end of the abandoned hallway. "What on earth are we doing?" Logan asked.

"I don't know," Veronica said suddenly being hit by the same feeling of guilt she had had moments before. "I just…"

"Did you even think about how I would feel? Shit, I almost danced with Callie just because I saw you talking to that jackass. Luckily, I kept watching you long enough to see him reveal himself as a bastard. Or maybe that was it, maybe the point was how I would feel."

Veronica stared at him. "Well, I didn't see you removing Callie's hand from your arm. And you know how that makes me feel."

Logan dropped he hands to his sides. "You know Veronica, I was sitting over there waiting for you to come back. The whole time she was there, I was waiting for _you_."

"Logan, I…" Veronica began. "I didn't want to hurt you. I just, I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry." She reached out and touched his arm.

Logan sighed. "We can't do this to each other," he finally said. "I told you I would never do anything to hurt you intentionally. You said you would trust me."

"I know. And I do. I wouldn't want to hurt you either. Can you forgive me?" she asked staring up at him sadly.

"Of course," Logan replied. He pulled her into a hug and held her against him. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Veronica leaned into Logan. "Thanks for protecting me from asshole guy," she said into his chest.

"Always," Logan said kissing the top of her head. "Want to go back to the party? We could dance."

"Sounds nice," Veronica replied. Kissing Logan quickly before he led her back into the ballroom.


	17. Chapter 17

"Have you finished packing?" Veronica asked walking into Logan's bedroom.

"I'm almost done." He motioned to the suitcase open on the bed. "Are you finished?"

"Yeah. All I had to do was pack up my toiletries. The bag I brought over last night was pretty much packed." Veronica and Logan were about to leave for the airport to go to Neptune for Christmas. Veronica had gotten the Thursday and Friday of Christmas Eve and Christmas and the full week following off work, which was quite impressive for her. "Did you put the bag of gifts somewhere?" she asked looking around.

"Yes, by the door. I added to it, too." Logan placed his last shirt into the suitcase and zipped it up. "No peeking," he called to Veronica who had left the bedroom.

"Come on, we might hit traffic on the way to the airport," she said sticking her head back in the bedroom.

"Coming." Logan grabbed his suitcase off the bed and Veronica's from where it stood by the bedroom door. "You got that one?" he asked nodding toward the bag of wrapped Christmas presents.

"Yep." Veronica held the door open and pulled Logan's keys from his jeans pocket to lock the door.

Over and hour into the flight, Logan was typing furiously on his computer, having been struck by inspiration on his current manuscript. Veronica had been reading case files until she had nodded off. She was now sleeping soundly, her head resting on Logan's shoulder. The flight attendant came over the loud speaker. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we have now begun our descent into San Diego. Please buckle your seatbelts and return all seats and tray-tables to their upright and locked positions. We also remind you that all electronics must be turned off and stored at this time."

Logan shut down his computer and returned it to his bag. Leaning over, he kissed Veronica's forehead. "'Ronica, we are about to land. You might want to sit up."

Veronica let out a soft moan. "Do I have to?" she asked groggily.

"Not yet, but I have to sit your seat back up." Logan leaned across her and pressed the button to straighten her seat. Veronica's head remained on his shoulder, and she rested a hand on his leg.

"Mmm, thanks."

By the time they landed, Veronica was fully awake. Thanks in part to a rather bumpy descent. They went to baggage claim to get their suitcases before heading to the rental car desk. By the time they had made it to Keith and Linda's it was nearly 11 pm. "I'm exhausted," Veronica said as they got out of the car.

"Could have fooled me," Logan jested. "You were so lively on the flight."

"You get a job where you don't work whenever you want and then talk to me," she retorted back. She had put in a lot of hours making sure things were settled in order to take the time off.

"Let's get you inside and into bed." Logan grabbed both suitcases from the trunk and quickly kissed Veronica before walked up the path to the front porch.

Keith was at the door to meet them by the time they reached the top step. "Oh sweetheart, you look worn out." He took the bag Veronica was carrying and wrapped an arm around her.

"I had a long day at work." Veronica collapsed on the couch while Keith placed the bag of gifts by an undecorated tree. "You didn't decorate the tree?" Veronica asked.

"We waited for you," Keith said. "Logan, how are you?"

"I'm great Mr. Mars. Just going to run these upstairs." Logan lifted the suitcases in indication. "I'm guessing Linda's asleep," he asked. At Keith's nod, Logan added, "I'll be quiet."

When Logan returned downstairs, Veronica and Keith were sitting on the couch talking. "Logan, I think you better get this one to bed, too," Keith said looking at Veronica.

"Probably right." Logan walked over and took Veronica's hands pulling her to her feet. "Come on, V. Bedtime."

"Night Pops," Veronica said hugging Keith, who had also risen to go to bed.

"Goodnight Sweetheart." Turning to Logan, Keith said, "Goodnight Logan. I'll see you two in the morning."

"Goodnight." Logan led Veronica up the stairs as Keith was turning out the lights on the first floor.

* * *

The next morning, Linda made a wonderful Christmas Eve breakfast. Afterwards, everyone went off for a while to do their own things. Veronica met up and Wallace and Mac, both who were in town for the holidays as well. Logan met up with Dick, who, other than a brief time surfing in October, he hadn't seen in over a year. Keith went into the office for a bit, and Linda went and did some last minute grocery shopping. Late in the afternoon, they all met back at Keith and Linda's house where they decorated the tree and spread the gifts out beneath it.

Veronica had gone into the kitchen with Linda to make a snack and returned to her father explaining to Logan proper placement of his Padres ornaments. She walked over to Logan and taking an ornament from his hand said, "Welcome to a Mars Christmas, where it is all about baseball."

"Beats other options," Logan said. "In my family, it was all about the spectacle." Veronica nodded sadly and ran a hand down his arm.

When the tree was finished, they all sat down to dinner. Linda had forgone a traditional meal. Everyone had agreed it wasn't necessary, but the dinner was delicious regardless. After dinner, they sat down with eggnog and watched a variety of Christmas movies from _A Year without a Santa Claus_ to _Christmas in Connecticut._

While everyone else sat on the couch,Veronica sat on the floor in front of Logan leaning back against his legs. Keith watched closely while Logan leaned forward and whispered something in Veronica's ear. He noticed a grin spread across his daughter's face, and she reached up with one arm and rested her elbow on Logan's knee. He took her hand and laced his fingers with hers. Keith smiled in spite of himself. He was glad to see his daughter happy.

As midnight came, so did the wishes of Merry Christmas. After seeing Keith kiss Linda, Logan felt it was probably safe to give Veronica a Christmas kiss. "I love you,' he whispered into her ear as he hugged her.

"I love you, too," she replied.

"We should probably go to bed," Linda said to Keith, who nodded in agreement. They said goodnight to Veronica and Logan and wished them a Merry Christmas again.

Veronica had moved to the couch next to Logan as _White Christmas_ began to play on the screen. Veronica lay down with her head on Logan's lap, so she could still see the screen. Logan ran his fingers through her hair soothingly. "Thank you for including me in Christmas this year," Logan said quietly.

Veronica turned her head and rolled partially on her back to look up at Logan. She smiled. "Of course. I'm glad you're here." They only made it about thirty minutes into the movie before they decided to go to bed.

* * *

Veronica woke up to what she had been pretty sure was Logan getting back into bed. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand, which read 8:33. Logan wrapped his arms around her and moved toward her, so his chest was flush with her back. "Merry Christmas," he said quietly.

"Merry Christmas." Veronica turned just enough to be able to kiss him.

"Come on," Logan said nudging her. "It's time to get up."

"What is this?" Veronica groaned. "Since when don't you want to sleep late?"

"Linda already made breakfast, and there are presents waiting."

"Oh presents," Veronica said enthusiastically.

"Yeah, and you have a time sensitive gift waiting downstairs," Logan hinted.

"Is it food?"

"No, but like I said, Linda already finished breakfast. I think we are going buffet style today." Logan wrapped an arm around Veronica after she had put on her bathrobe.

When they reached the living room, Keith was already settled on the couch with a plate of breakfast in his lap. "Merry Christmas sweetie," he said kissing Veronica's cheek when she sat down on the couch next to him.

"Merry Christmas Dad," she replied with a yawn. "I've never seen him excited about a holiday like this," Veronica remarked as Logan disappeared into the kitchen.

Logan and Linda both entered the living room a moment later. Logan was carrying a plate of breakfast and a cup of coffee, both of which he handed to Veronica. He returned to the kitchen for his own. "Are you ready for your present?" Logan asked as he finally sat down.

"Stockings first," Veronica replied. "It's tradition." Keith nodded and stood to remove the stockings from the hearth. He passed one to everyone. Logan was shocked as Keith handed him a stocking.

"When did these get filled?" Logan simply held his stocking as everyone else began to empty theirs of loot.

"Well you see Logan, there is this magically man named Santa Claus, who lives at the North Pole…" Keith said with a smile.

"And on Christmas Eve he brings presents to all the good boys and girls," Veronica finished leaning over to kiss Logan's cheek.

"So I guess I finally made it onto the "nice" list."

"Open your stocking," Veronica said. "I gave Santa some things to add to it that I know you'll like."

Logan emptied his stocking to find an assortment of candy and a Satsuma orange, which were common to all the stockings. He also found a handful of small wrapped gifts. Throughout the process, he kept watching Veronica, eager to give her the time sensitive gift he had mentioned upstairs. He threw a nervous look in Keith's direction. Keith, who was in on the gift, nodded as if to say everything would be fine.

About fifteen minutes later, Veronica went to the tree and handed a gift to each person. When she returned to her seat, Logan took the gift she had selected for herself and set it aside. "There is something else you have to open very first." He got up, and Keith followed him.

"You'd better close your eyes," Linda said.

"What's going on?" Veronica asked.

Logan had seemed to go into the laundry room. From out of the room, Veronica heard him ask, "Are you're eyes closed?"

"Yes," she lied, and then, at a look from Linda, she actually closed her eyes.

Keith held the laundry room door open for Logan, and Linda smiled at him when he came back into the room. He settled himself and the gift on the floor in front of Veronica. "Okay, open."

Veronica opened her eyes to Logan with a small white puppy wiggling on his lap. The puppy had a bluish grey spot around one of its eyes, and another large one on its back. One of its small floppy ears was also the same grey color. "Oh my god," Veronica breathed. She slipped from the couch onto the floor in front of Logan and reached out to pet the puppy.

Logan moved the dog from his to Veronica's lap. "He's not meant to be a replacement for Backup or anything. I just have noticed the look on your face when we are at the beach or the park and there are people with their dogs." Logan still was having a hard time reading Veronica's reaction to this gift.

As the puppy stood up on his hind legs, his front paws climbing up Veronica's front, and he licked her chin, she smiled, first down at the puppy and then at Logan. Petting the puppy, she asked, "Where'd he come from?"

"The laundry room," Logan said. When Veronica rolled her eyes, Logan added, "I dragged Dick with me to pick him out at the SPCA yesterday. Then I went and picked him up early this morning. Logan scooted closer to Veronica and the puppy. "He's a lab, Australian shepherd, and pit bull mix, possibly some other things as well."

The puppy had crawled off Veronica's lap and across Logan's where he had discovered some discarded wrapping paper and was shaking it viciously with his mouth. Veronica laughed. "Does he have a name?"

"Not yet. This guy at the shelter recommended some. I was kind of leaning toward Taser. It reminded me of high school." Logan winked at her.

"Taser," Veronica called to the puppy, who turned and looked at her. "I guess we have a winner."

Keith and Linda were sitting on the couch watching Veronica and Logan with smiles on their face. Logan noticed and said, "I guess we should let someone else open some presents, huh?"

"Not sure how I am going to compete with this one," Veronica said picking up Taser.

As they moved on to opening more presents, Keith was first and opened the gift Veronica had handed him. It was a joint gift from her and Logan. "Wow. Padres' season tickets," he exclaimed. Logan smiled. "Thanks sweetie," he said leaning down to hug Veronica.

"They were actually Logan's idea," Veronica said with a smile.

"Well then thank you both. This is great."

They continued to open gifts, which proved challenging with Taser running back and forth between them all as bits of paper floated down from the gifts being opened. He finally calmed down and lay down by Logan's feet chewing on the hem of his pajama pants. After they finished opening gifts, they sat relaxing for a moment. Logan was setting his new watch Veronica had given him. When he put it on, he held out his wrist for her approval. She smiled and leaned over to kiss him. "Thanks," he said.

"Thanks for my present." She leaned into his side and picked up Taser from the floor.

Suddenly, Logan noticed the look on her face turn to one of concern. "What is it?" he asked. He was actually pretty sure he knew what the issue was.

"What am I going to do with him while I'm at work?"

"Actually I was thinking he could just stay at my place, but that kind of depends on what you think of my other gift for you."

"You got me something else?" Keith and Linda chose that moment to get up and leave the room. Veronica watched them leave and then turned back to Logan.

"Well, maybe. It depends on if you like it." Logan fished a small box out of his pocket and handed it to her. Veronica looked at the box for a moment before opening it. Inside the box was a key on a simple silver key ring. She looked at Logan puzzled. "It's more symbolic. It's a key to my apartment, but I was actually hoping you'd move in with me. You and Taser." He looked at her hopefully.

Veronica didn't say anything but returned her focus back to the box and lifted the key from it. She looked back up at Logan. "Yeah, I'll move in with you." Logan grinned and kissed her.


	18. Chapter 18

When Keith returned from the kitchen, Logan and Veronica hadn't broken their kiss. "I guess she said yes," Keith said with a smirk.

"You told my father?" Veronica asked in shock.

"I just asked him what he thought my odds were." Logan stood up and reached down to help Veronica up as well.

"I remember it being more of asking my permission." Keith turned to Veronica. "I am not sure if I was relieved or upset he wasn't asking to marry you." He smiled at Logan to let him know he was joking.

Logan wasn't about to give Veronica a chance to even finish registering her father's comment. "What do you think about taking the pup outside?" he asked her.

"Sounds like a plan. Does he have a collar or leash?"

"Yeah. It is a fully equipped gift." Logan went into the laundry room, and Veronica bent down to pick up Taser. Logan returned with a blue collar and matching leash. As Veronica held Taser, he fastened the collar around the dog's neck and clipped on the leash. "They said they did some leash training with him at the shelter. He should be okay on it."

"Have fun," Keith said going back to the kitchen.

"Thanks," Veronica said. "See you in a bit."

Taser did certainly seem to be okay on the leash. He also seemed completely sure of what it meant. He walked toward the door, his oversized puppy feet flapping. "What else has he been trained to do?" Veronica asked opening the door.

"I think they said _sit_ and _come_," Logan said following her out the door. Taser was doing very well on the leash, so Logan decided to test out another command. "Let's see how the sitting goes," he said to Veronica. She stopped walking across the lawn, forcing the Taser to stop as well. "Sit," Logan said gesturing with his hand. Taser cocked his head but eventually sat. "Good boy," Logan said bending down and rubbing the puppy's head and ears. He offered Taser a treat, of which he had shoved a handful into his pocket.

"Let's go around back," Veronica suggested. "We could let him off the leash back there." They got to the backyard, and let Taser off his leash. "We should work on teaching him his name."

Logan nodded in agreement. "Here, have some of the treats." He gave a small handful to Veronica. Then, he walked a little ways into the yard, and the puppy followed. Veronica knelt down and called, "Come, come here Taser." Taser's ears perked up and he pranced over to Veronica. "Good Taser." She gave him a small treat. When Linda came out to let them know lunch was almost ready, Logan and Veronica were both sitting on the ground and the puppy was running back and forth between them.

"Are you two ready to come in for lunch?" Linda asked from the back door.

"Sure," Logan said standing up. He walked to where Veronica was sitting on the ground and helped her to her feet. Taser began to jump up trying to figure out what was going on. "He should have a nap or something," Logan said motioning to the puppy.

Veronica smiled at Logan. "Yeah, probably." They walked to the house with Taser on their heels. The back door entered through the laundry room. As they entered the room, Veronica was impressed by the set-up Logan had clearly arranged that morning. There was a small wire pen with a dog bed in it. Inside the pen were also a water and food dishes and some chew toys.

Logan opened the pen, and Veronica urged Taser inside. Logan grabbed a puppy sized Kong toy and put a treat inside. He placed it on Taser's bed. The puppy lay down with the toy and began to work to extricate the treat. "He should be okay," Logan said beginning to leave the laundry room.

Veronica stopped him with a hand on his forearm. She leaned up and kissed him. "Thank you."

'For what?" Logan asked, puzzled.

"For him, for this." Veronica wasn't sure how to explain what she was feeling. "This is even better than a pony," she joked.

"I thought about a pony, but I decided we needed a yard first," Logan said with a laugh.

After lunch, Logan and Veronica went back to check on Taser. The puppy was sound asleep. Veronica stood in the doorway watching as Logan quietly, as to not wake Taser, removed his food and water dishes from the pen. As he refilled the dog's dishes, Linda came and stood next to Veronica. "You see it don't you?" she asked.

"What?" Veronica shifted her gaze from Logan to Linda.

"How much he loves you." Linda patted Veronica's shoulder and went to join Keith in the living room. Veronica watched her go, and then she looked back at Logan, who was returning Taser's dishes to his pen.

"He'll probably sleep awhile longer." Logan joined Veronica in the doorway. "Oh, here." He grabbed a large gift bag off the top of the dryer and handed it to Veronica, before leading her into the living room.

Linda was reading a signed copy of Logan's first novel, which he had given her for Christmas, and Keith was flipping channels on the TV. Veronica sat down on one of the couches and looked through the bag. It was full of flyers about puppy care and training. In the bottom were a handful of toys and a second collar.

Logan sat down next to Veronica after having run upstairs to grab his laptop. He attempted to write but soon found himself engaged in reading the pamphlets along with Veronica. "Why don't you look up training classes offered near us?" Veronica suggested. Logan opened a search engine on the computer and searched for puppy training. Reading over his shoulder, Veronica asked, "Wait, how old his he?"

"They said about ten weeks at the shelter," Logan replied. "What about this one?" He pointed at the screen. The training class was offered for puppies from 9 to 16 weeks and was only a few blocks from Logan's apartment.

"That looks good. Look you can sign us up online." They opted for a Wednesday evening class, and Logan signed them up for a session beginning the week they got back to San Francisco. Veronica and Logan spent another hour or so educating themselves on puppy ownership. Veronica could hardly remember Backup as a puppy, and Logan had never had anything to do with any pets his family had owned.

When Taser woke up, they took him outside again, this time joined by Linda and Keith. After which, they ate a wonderful Christmas dinner and retired to the living room to watch more Christmas movies. Linda and Keith had taken the couch, and Veronica was lying on the floor with her head in Logan's lap. Logan was running his fingers through Veronica's hair with one hand, his other arm resting on her shoulder, his hand petting Taser, where the puppy lounged on his back in front of Veronica. She was also petting his stomach.

Halfway through _It's a Wonderful Life_, Veronica's phone rang. "It's Mac," she said getting up and going into the kitchen. "Merry Christmas," she greeted.

"Oh thank god you answered," Mac said panicked.

"What's wrong?" Veronica asked.

"Kevin showed up at my parent's house today?"

"Kevin, Kevin? As in your ex you broke up with when you moved back to California?" Veronica asked.

"Yes, oh god. He said he missed me and me leaving made everything clear." Mac stopped for a moment to breathe deeply. "Then he got down on his knee and proposed!"

"Oh my god, Mac, what did you say?"

"I said I didn't know," Mac replied. "I mean, when I moved he didn't think this was serious enough to change states. Now he wants to get married?"

"Do you love him?"

"Yes, but…"

"Mac, you were devastated when you guys broke up. Is he willing to move now?"

"Yes. I was so happy to see him, and I do love him. I really do want to be with him. Just what if he decides he doesn't want to be with me?" Mac knew she was rambling.

"He isn't stupid. You may just have to trust him," Veronica stated.

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with Veronica?" Mac joked.

"Just growing up, I guess."

Veronica talked to Mac for a few minutes more. When she returned to the living room, Logan asked, "What's up with Mac?"

"She is probably getting engaged as we speak."

"Oh, that is wonderful," Linda said. "She is such a sweet girl."

"Engaged to whom?" Logan asked.

"Kevin, the guy from Seattle. He showed up at her parents' today."

"Wow," Logan said. "That's great. I think I need to meet this guy though. Are we sure he is good enough for her?"

Veronica smiled. "Yeah. He's a good guy."

A few hours later, as they were climbing into bed, having arranged Taser in his pen at the foot of their bed, Logan turned to Veronica and asked, "Do you want to get married?"

"If that's your idea of a proposal, you are in need of some serious help," Veronica said with a slight laugh.

"No. I didn't…" Logan said tongue-tied. He caught the smile on Veronica's face and relaxed a bit. "I wasn't asking that. I was wondering if you know, some day, if you would ever want to get married?"

"In general, or to you in particular?" Veronica asked.

"Does it change the answer?" Logan asked suddenly sick to his stomach at the thought of Veronica marrying someone else.

"Actually yes," Veronica replied. At Logan's crushed face, she realized what he was probably thinking. "Not like that," she explained. "I never really thought I would want to get married. In fact, I recall declaring to myself that I would never get married. The whole idea has just always seemed like a way to give someone permission to hurt you, but if I were going to get married… I'd probably want it to be to you." Veronica was staring up at the ceiling. She couldn't bring herself to look at Logan.

"Oh," Logan said. He found himself at a loss for words. "But, basically that was still a no, right?" He was also staring at the ceiling now.

"I don't need a ring or a big party to know I love you," Veronica explained. "Or that you love me." She turned cautiously to look at Logan. "Do you?"

He turned toward her as well and shook his head. "No. I do like the idea of knowing we'd be together forever, though."

"Do we have to be married for that to be true?" Veronica asked.

"I guess not," Logan replied.

Taser started whining and jumping, trying to get on the bed. "Besides, who'd get the puppy if we broke up?" Veronica asked with a smile. She leaned forward and kissed Logan. "Can we let him sleep on the bed?"

Logan found he had no strength to say no to Veronica in that moment. "Sure." He sat up and leaned over the end of the bed, picked up Taser, and set him on the bed with them. The puppy crawled up between Veronica and Logan and lay down between their chests. "This is a problem," Logan said looking at Taser.

"What?" Veronica asked.

"How do I hold you with him in the way?"

"You don't?" Veronica said. She was petting the puppy and smiling.

"Oh, fine."

"I remember being told that if the cuddling is the best part, he's doing it wrong." Veronica grinned at Logan.

He rolled his eyes. "It shouldn't be the _best _part, but it is definitely better than nothing." He gave in and simply started to pet the puppy as well. As he began to drift off to sleep, he felt Veronica intertwine her fingers with his, still resting on the puppy's soft fur.

"I love you," she whispered.

"Mm you too," Logan said half asleep. Veronica smiled.

* * *

The few days later when Logan got up to get ready to go surfing with Dick, Taser, who was once again sleeping between them, had gotten excited and woken Veronica. She was awake enough that she knew she wouldn't be falling back asleep, so she had decided to go with Logan and give Taser a run at the beach. They had taken the puppy as far as the park, but the beach was a new attempt.

They rode down with Logan and met Dick. The guys were now surfing, and Veronica was playing with Taser in the surf. As soon as the puppy had seen Logan go out into the water, he had attempted to follow. Veronica had stopped him and now had him on his leash to keep him from going too deep. She had attempted to teach him to fetch but found that the bringing the ball back was still beyond the pup's abilities.

By the time the guys finally emerged from the water, Veronica had relocated and was sitting in the sand leaning against a rock, and Taser was passed out at her side. "Hey Ronnie," Dick greeted. "I guess that's where the term _dog tired_ came from huh?" He nodded at Taser.

"Yeah, he wore himself out." Veronica stood up as Logan approached. He kissed her briefly on the lips.

"So, do you guys want to come to Casa Casablancas for lunch?" Dick asked.

"We have the dog," Logan said. He looked at Veronica, clearly letting her know it was okay for her to add another excuse.

"The dog is welcome, but I understand if you have something else to do." Dick readjusted his surfboard in the sand next to him.

"Sure, we'll come if you really don't mind Taser," Veronica said. She smiled at Dick and then Logan. She knew Dick was Logan's only real remaining friend from high school, and he was harmless; she could make the effort.

"Great," Dick said. "I'm not sure what I can offer for food, but I promise it'll be edible."

Logan and Veronica got in the rental car and followed Dick to his house. Taser had fallen quickly back asleep in the backseat. "You know we didn't have to do this," Logan said.

"I don't mind Dick, so much. I adjusted to him when you were roomies." At Logan's doubtful look, Veronica added, "Well mostly. But he is your friend, so I can deal with it."

Lunch at Dick's actually turned out to be quite nice. They had sandwiches and sat outside by the pool. Dick's house definitely lived up to the lifestyle in which he had been raised. In addition to his inherited wealth, Dick was doing quite well for himself in the business world. Veronica's eyes had started to glaze over during his description of what he actually did, but he seemed to be good at it.

Logan had ended up staying at Dick's after lunch for some "guy time," as Dick called it. Veronica took the car, and Dick would bring Logan back to Keith and Linda's that evening.


	19. Chapter 19

Veronica got back to the house to find it empty. Both Linda and her father were at work. She called Mac who didn't answer. She was probably doing something with Kevin. Wallace would be back in LA at work. Finally, after exhausting any other idea, Veronica got Taser back into the rental car and drove to her father's office.

The Mars Investigation office hadn't changed much since Veronica had worked there. The biggest change was someone new sitting in her old desk. Keith's assistant was a young man named Evan who was working on becoming a PI himself. The goal was actually for him to eventually take over some of Keith's caseload, so he could have a partial retirement.

"Hello Veronica," Evan greeted. "Oh, I heard you got a dog. He's a cute one."

"Hi Evan. Thanks. Is my dad in?"

"He's in his office. You can go on in."

Veronica walked into Keith's office carrying Taser. "Hi sweetie," her father greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"I didn't have anything to do today. Logan is hanging out with Dick." Veronica sat down. "I thought I'd bring Taser to see the office."

"Things seem to be going well for you two," Keith said casually

Veronica nodded, considering her father's statement. "Dad?"

"Yeah, sweetie?"

"What do you really think of me dating Logan again?" Veronica asked. "I mean, I know you have had reservations in the past, but then you seem friendly with him and made that joke about him proposing. I was just wondering what you really though."

"Well. As always, my first choice as your father would be that you join a convent far removed from any man, other than me of course." Veronica gave Keith a look indicating that she wasn't in a joking mood. Keith changed his tone. "It seems to me that Logan really loves you. And I know you don't think you need it, but he wants to take care of you. It seems to me he does. And does it in a way that you don't seem to mind."

Veronica took in what Keith was saying. "I guess so."

"You love him, too." It was a statement not a question, but Veronica nodded anyway. "It seems to me that that is what really matters." Keith took a deep breath. "Though, keeping all that in mind. I remember the past. I remember that I drove that boy home drunk many times in his youth; I remember how he treated you after Lilly died; I remember that he broke a lamp in our living room in anger, anger directed at you, and I remember all the times you cried over him." Veronica was biting her lower lip. This was the part of the conversation she had been worried about.

"But…" Keith said, "I also remember that he was on the roof of the Neptune Grand and in that parking garage at Hearst when you needed him; I remember that he slept on the couch both those nights, and I remember that he forgave you when you accused him of murder."

Veronica nodded, pressing her lips together. "Sometimes I worry that we're just going to hurt each other again."

"That's always a risk in a relationship. But honey, you have always seemed happier with him, even when you were fighting. There were some guys who seemed much safer bets in my mind. But, it always seemed to me that they were who you thought you were supposed to want to be with not who you actually wanted to be with."

Veronica was nodding subtly. Her father definitely knew her well. Taser was squirming in her lap, so she said, "I guess I'd better get him somewhere he can run around."

"Well thanks for stopping by. I'll see you tonight for dinner."

"Yeah." She stood up and moved for the door. "And dad, thanks for what you said about Logan and me."

"Bye sweetie."

As she was leaving the office building, Veronica's phone rang. "Hey Mac," she greeted.

"Hey, sorry I was taking Kevin to the airport when you called. Do you want to meet up for awhile?"

"How about my dad's place?" Veronica asked. "The puppy needs some playtime."

"I'll be over in a bit," Mac said.

Veronica was only at the house for a few minutes before Mac got there. They went into the backyard and sat at the patio table while Taser ran around wildly. "So you took Kevin to the airport?" Veronica asked.

"Yeah. He flew home. He is getting stuff together to move. He plans to try and be living with me in just over a month." Mac smiled. "He is going to come down in a couple weeks to look into some jobs."

"That's great. I'm so excited for you."

"So speaking of all that. I have a favor to ask," Mac said.

"Shoot," Veronica replied.

"Will you be my maid of honor?" Mac actually looked nervous when she asked.

Veronica smiled. "Of course. Did you set a date or anything yet?"

"Not for a while," Mac said. "We want to wait until Kevin is settled in California to begin to plan things. We are leaning toward early fall, I think."

"That makes sense."

They talked about the wedding and Mac retold the proposal story again in more detail. Then, Mac asked, "So any prospect of you getting married anytime soon?"

Veronica sighed and bent down to pet Taser who had come over to get her attention. "Things are really good with Logan." She paused for a moment and then said, "And, he asked about us getting married Christmas night."

"What?" Mac exclaimed. "I can't believe you didn't tell me that."

"It wasn't like a proposal or anything." Veronica sighed. "I told him about you and Kevin, and when we were going to bed that night, he asked if I wanted to get married. He was asking about if I'd ever want to."

"What'd you say?" Mac asked.

"I pretty much said no." Mac's brow furrowed. "I didn't tell him I didn't want to marry _him_. I just said I didn't think I ever wanted to get married."

"Wow, and that didn't cause a fight?"

"Come to think of it, he didn't really say much of anything." Veronica ran a hand through her hair. "Well, he did say something about wanting us to be together forever. I basically said that I didn't think that required a ring."

"Does Logan want to have kids?" Mac asked.

Veronica thought for a minute. "I don't know. We've never talked about it. But kids don't come with a wedding ring."

"You'd be okay with having kids with him but not being married to him?" Mac asked. It wasn't a shocked tone, just a simple question.

"Yeah. I guess the whole aversion to marriage has very little to do with Logan or me and everything to do with the idea of marriage. Kids seem like a completely different issue."

"Did we just walk into your future being planned, man?" Dick asked Logan as they came into the backyard through the gate.

Logan noticed the complete look of terror on Veronica's face at having been caught in the conversation she was just having, so he completely ignored Dick's comment. "There's my boy," he said to Taser, who was jumping about excitedly at his feet. He leaned over Veronica's chair with a hand on each of the arms and kissed her. "Hi," he said quietly.

"Everyone is all lovey dovey," Dick complained sitting down in a chair next to Mac. "You're engaged. These two are whatever they are." He gestured toward Logan and Veronica.

"Well how about you Dick? Any women on the horizon?" Veronica asked.

"Plenty, just none for the long term. I'll already be on marriage number two. You have to start making them count after that."

* * *

"I'm just worried," Veronica explained to Logan.

"Aw, you're a good puppy mom," Logan teased. Veronica rolled her eyes. "Don't worry he'll be fine. They said this was the perfect age for him to experience new things."

"But flying?" Veronica peered in Taser's crate. "He is so little still."

"He'll be right at our feet," Logan said. "It's a good thing he isn't any bigger, or he would have to be in cargo."

"Next time we go to Neptune, maybe we should drive." Veronica moved from her seat to the floor where she could see the puppy better.

"Drive what?" Logan asked. "Neither of us has a car."

"Maybe we should get one," Veronica said.

"For the dog?" Logan asked. "Veronica you are losing it. If it is that big of a deal, we can rent a car to drive down."

"We will now begin boarding for Southwest Airlines flight to San Francisco out of gate 23. We would like to welcome passengers in boarding group A to begin boarding."

Logan helped Veronica to her feet and the filed in to the boarding area. They're boarding slips were for B11 and B12. Once they were on the plane, Veronica relaxed a bit. The flight was actually pretty good. Taser slept through the whole thing. He was antsy on the cab ride to Logan's apartment, but once they got inside they were able to get him settled in.

Logan set up his pen with dog bed in the bedroom while Veronica created a feeding station in the laundry room. When Veronica came back into the living room, Logan was placing another dog bed they had bought beside the couch. He emptied a bag of dog toys on the floor near it. "Did you get the puppy pads?" Veronica asked.

"Yeah," Logan replied. "I put one in the pen in the bedroom and there is another is by the door. You can move it to the laundry room if you want."

"What are we going to do with him for New Years Eve tomorrow?" Veronica asked from the laundry room. "We told Mike and Juliana we would be at their party."

"He'll be okay," Logan said as Veronica reentered the living room. Taser was playing with a stuffed dog toy. "That is why we are working on the crate training. We'll just make sure to take him outside right before we leave and right when we get home."

"Okay." Veronica sat down on the couch next to Logan. "I'm being neurotic aren't I?"

"A little bit, but its kind of cute." Logan kissed her cheek. "Movie?"

"Sure. Nothing Christmas related. I've overdosed." Logan chose a movie while Veronica got them each a glass of wine. When Veronica sat back down on the couch with Logan, he put his arm around her shoulder. "You know," Veronica said, "It was nice to go visit my dad and Linda, but I am glad to have it just be us again."

Logan smiled. When Taser began trying to jump up on the couch he said, "Us plus a small addition." Veronica laughed and bent down to help Taser up. The puppy snuggled up between them on the couch. A while into the movie, when Veronica had readjusted and was resting her head on Logan, Taser, as if jealous, crawled partially on top of her.

When the movie finished, Logan suggested they get ready for bed. "I'll take him out," Logan said picking up Taser from the couch.

While Logan and the dog were outside, Veronica got ready for bed. She was reading in bed when Logan brought Taser into the bedroom. "How'd it go?"

"Just fine. He explored a little bit." Logan put the puppy into his pen and went to get himself ready for bed. When he crawled into bed, he scooted close to Veronica and began to kiss her neck.

Just as she set down her book and turned to kiss him, Taser began to whine in his pen. "Oh the puppy," Veronica said.

"No," Logan said decisively. "I know they say your sex life disappears when you have a baby, but Veronica, he is a dog, and we haven't had sex for a week."

"That's as much your fault as his, with your stupid won't have sex with me in my father's house thing."

"That and the furry creature sleeping between us for the past five nights." Logan didn't give up. He reached across Veronica and turned off her bedside light. He resumed kissing her neck.

As he hit a particularly sensitive spot, she gave in. "Mmm," she sighed. She rolled over, and Logan pulled her to him.

* * *

The following evening, Veronica was attempting to get ready for the New Year's Party, but Logan was impeding the process greatly. "Logan? Can you zip my dress for me?" She had asked, only having been able to get the dress zipped halfway up herself.

"Sure," Logan had responded, but while kissing her neck he had moved the zipper down rather than up. He ran his hands up the silky fabric and pushed the straps to the side, so her dress fell to the floor.

"Logan," she said in irritation, "That's a new dress." As his lips continued a journey down her neck and over her shoulder, her tone change, "Mm, Logan…"

He turned her around in his arms and nearly threw her to the bed. Forty minutes later, Veronica found herself back in the same stage of getting ready. She simply accepted that they would be late to the party. Logan had definitely made it worth it.

"If you were trying for fashionably late you missed it by 30 minutes or so," Leslie said to Veronica as she and Logan finally joined the party at Mike and Juliana's. Jack and Logan had wandered off to the bar set up in the living room.

Juliana came over and joined them followed by Susan and Mac, who was quickly becoming a part of the gang. "So you made it," Mac joked.

"Well, you know we got… caught up." Veronica glanced at Logan where he stood across the room.

"Oh I know," Leslie said with a smile.

"We've had some time to make up for. Logan has that stupid rule about when we're at my dad's house."

"Hey Kevin," Veronica said, as he came up behind Mac and handed her a drink.

Logan and Jack soon came back joined by Jeremy and his current 'flavor of the week'. The guy made Dick look like a serial monogamist. "This is Kelly," Jeremy said introducing her.

When they had gone off to refill their drinks, Jack asked, "Is it just me, or do they all have names that end in "ee"?"

"Let's see, Kelly, Katie, Jamie, Sherry, Lacey…" Veronica said. "I think you're on to something Jack."

He smirked back at her. "So why are you two late?" he asked glancing at Logan who had handed Veronica her drink and was standing partially next to her, partially behind her.

"Had to take the dog out," Logan said casually.

"Is that what they're calling it now?" Mac asked with a smirk. Everyone laughed, and Logan glanced at Veronica who smiled and blushed slightly.

The party was great. Mike and Juliana knew a ton of people, but Logan, Veronica, and the gang saw plenty of each other that night. When midnight finally rolled around, Logan and Veronica were on the porch outside alone for one of the first times all night. Well, not alone, but without anyone else they actually knew. As everyone around them began to count down, Logan pulled Veronica to him and placed both hands on her face, his thumbs stroking her cheeks. "I love you," he said quietly.

"I love you, too," she replied leaning in to kiss him as everyone around them called out "Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year," Logan breathed against her as he pulled back just an inch from the kiss.

"Happy New Year," she replied with a smile.


	20. Chapter 20

Packing up Veronica's apartment went surprisingly quickly. Their friends had joined in to help when they finally were ready to move all her stuff to Logan's. They spent all day Saturday moving boxes and furniture into his place. Veronica hadn't sold much of her stuff. Her furniture had been carefully gathered over the last few years, most of it vintage from resale stores. Logan had agreed they could make room for it, getting rid of some of his stuff if necessary.

By five that evening, Logan, Veronica, Mike, Juliana, Jack, Leslie, Holly, Jeremy, and Mac were all relaxing on the rooftop patio of Logan and Veronica's apartment building. "Kevin said he was sorry he had to leave," Mac said. "He wanted to help."

"Likely story," Jack said. "He was probably grateful to get out of the heavy lifting. If this place didn't have an elevator I don't know if I would have survived."

"Stop complaining," Logan replied. "You are getting plenty of free beer out of the deal."

"Speaking of which." Jeremy jumped up and went to the cooler they had set up. "Anyone else need another?"

"I'll take another," Veronica said. Mac, Holly, and Mike all asked for another as well.

"So, you're shacking up," Jack said. "Big move. How you two feeling about it?"

"Stop trying to make them nervous," Holly said hitting him. "You can be such a jerk."

"Oww," Jack said rubbing his arm where Holly hit him. Hot got up to get a beer and brought a few back trying to pass them out.

He attempted to hand one to Juliana, who turned it down. "So, I was going to wait until later to tell all of you, but before someone else tries to force beer on me. We have an announcement."

"You're pregnant," Leslie said with a smile.

"Yeah," Mike said taking his wife's hand.

"Okay, pay up." Leslie held out her hand to her friends and people began to dole out money, which she divided up and handed half to Veronica.

"You were making bets?" Juliana asked in shock.

"I lost months ago," Holly said. "I still can't believe you were married over a year before it happened."

"Does everyone realize this will be the first baby in the group?" Jeremy asked.

"Well unless you count Veronica and Logan's," Mac said gesturing to Taser who was playing with a toy at their side.

Everyone laughed, but Jeremy continued, "It's going to change things."

"Things can't stay the same forever," Logan said. "Congratulations by the way," he added clinking his beer bottle with Mike's in a toast.

The gang left around seven, and Veronica and Logan began to unpack some of her boxes. She started with her clothes and things, and he added her books and movies to the shelves. Logan then added her kitchen items to cupboards and drawers while she unpacked pictures and other items like that. "Mind if I hang a few?" Veronica called from the living room.

"Please do. I've had empty walls long enough." Veronica hung a selection of her photographs around the living room. Just as she finished with the last one, Logan came out of the kitchen and wrapped his arms around her from behind. He nuzzled her neck. "Long day," he said. "Where's the puppy?"

"Passed out on his dog bed in the bedroom last I saw," Veronica replied. "He was exhausted by the day too apparently."

"I can't believe Mike and Juliana are having a baby." Logan pulled Veronica with him on to the couch. "You think he'll still get to go surfing?"

Veronica laughed. "Probably less often, but would be like trying to stop you," she replied. "Should we go to bed?" she asked, walking toward the bedroom.

Logan followed her. "Look," he said, pointing at Taser, whose head was resting on the hardwood floor, the rest of his body in his bed. "He must have been tired."

Logan stripped down to his boxers and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. When he returned to the bedroom, Veronica was just pulling on her pajamas; he took a moment to enjoy the view. "You're beautiful," he said as she walked past him to the bathroom. He snaked a hand around her waist and kissed her cheek. She smiled at him and gave him a peck on the lips before continuing into the bathroom.

Logan was in bed reading when Veronica got back into the bedroom. When she crawled into bed on her side, Logan set his book down and wrapped his arms around her. "I can't believe you agreed to live with me. I must have done something good in a previous life to deserve this." He kissed her.

She laughed. "You sound pretty sure it wasn't in this life."

"I'm not delusional. I must have been a saint to deserve you."

"Logan, you're going mushy," Veronica said.

"Sorry. I got caught up."

"Just don't let it happen again."

"I promise it won't." He pulled her to him and kissed her deeply, rolling her onto her back and flipping off the light with one hand.

* * *

Living together didn't take much adjustment for Veronica and Logan; they had practically been doing it for months. They did however, run into a few issues with not having anywhere to escape to when the other annoyed them.

"Logan, where are my keys?" Veronica yelled from the living room.

Logan was still in bed; it was only 6:50. "I don't know," he mumbled.

"You used them last night when you took Taser for his walk. Where did you put them?" Veronica knew her tone was one of extreme annoyance. Logan was still in bed, and she was running late for work. It just didn't seem fair.

Logan grudgingly got out of bed, pulling on a t-shirt as he walked out of the bedroom. "Did you check the mantle?" he asked from the hallway.

"Yes," Veronica snapped. "I checked everywhere."

"Obviously, not everywhere, or you would have found them," Logan replied smartly.

Veronica made a sound that was halfway between a groan and a growl. I just hate him sometimes, she thought. "Logan, just help me find my damn keys. My key card is on them."

"Found them," Logan replied cheerfully. He exited the laundry room holding her keys out.

"Great," Veronica said sarcastically. She snatched the keys from his hand or attempted to.

Logan kept hold on the keys and leaned in to kiss her quickly. "Have a good day at work. I love you."

Veronica glared at him. With a roll of her eyes and a small exasperated noise, she said, "I love you, too." With that, she was out the door.

Even after a month of them living together, Veronica still had moments where she wished she could go to her own place for a while. That evening was one of them. She was telling this to Leslie as they were leaving work together. "It isn't that I am unhappy living with him," she explained. "I love him, and I love it… most of the time."

"So what is the issue?" Leslie asked. She had offered Veronica a ride home since they had been leaving the office at the same time, which was a rare occurrence.

"Well, so like this morning, I was annoyed because he used my keys last night, and I couldn't find them this morning. I was running late, and as usual, he was still in bed."

"Man, it must be nice to have a job where you set the hours," Leslie inserted.

"Exactly," Veronica said. "So anyway, I still feel annoyed. A month ago, I would have been able to go to my apartment and had some time away from him until I didn't feel this way…"

"But now, you have to go home and deal with him." Leslie smiled. She'd been married since she had graduated from college, but could still remember the adjustments.

"Yeah," Veronica said. "Maybe I'll just take Taser for a walk when I get home. Have some alone time."

"Might be a good idea." Leslie said as she dropped Veronica off in front of the apartment building. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye," Veronica replied.

Logan knew Veronica was still annoyed with him when she got home. She immediately changed her clothes and said, "I'm taking Taser out." The door had opened and closed so quickly Logan hadn't had time to respond.

When Veronica came back from walking Taser, Logan called out to her from the kitchen. "I did some laundry today, but I didn't want to put your stuff away because I know you say I do it wrong."

Veronica went into the bedroom and noticed a pile of neatly folded clothes on the bed. She wondered for a moment why she hadn't noticed them there when she changed after work. She realized, in her annoyance at Logan, she hadn't noticed much. She put the clothes in the closet and dresser. Logan was still in the kitchen when she left the bedroom, so she joined him in there.

"You made dinner, too?" she asked in shock.

"Yeah, I still can't get through the last chapter in the book. I figured I should do something productive if I wasn't writing." He turned to her and smiled. "Plus you were annoyed with me, so I needed to do something to make you like me again."

"I always like you," Veronica said and leaned up to kissed his cheek.

"No, you always love me. There are many times you don't like me," Logan replied with a smirk.

Veronica nodded. "Okay, you're right. That's true."

Taser came prancing into the kitchen with a ball in his mouth at that moment. "Oh, and check out the other productive thing I got done today." Logan said. Gesturing to Taser, he added, "Throw the ball."

"Okay." Veronica picked up the ball and tossed it into the living room. Taser chased after it and returned immediately, dropping the ball at Veronica's feet again.

"He brought it back every time," Logan said.

"Good boy," Veronica knelt down and scratched behind Taser's ears. "You finally learned to fetch."

"Next time we go to the beach, he can show up all the other dogs," Logan said with a smile. As Veronica continued to pet and praise Taser, Logan added, "What about me? I taught it to him."

"You're a good boy, too," Veronica said. She stood up and scratched his hair behind his ear as well.

Logan laughed and pulled her into his arms. "Not exactly the affection I was looking for." He grinned at her.

"Hmm, something more like this," she said and grabbed him behind him neck and pulled his mouth to hers for a passionate kiss.

"Mmhmm," Logan said against her lips.

* * *

"So, Sunday?" Logan posed casually while he and Veronica were lying in bed one night.

"What about it?" Veronica asked.

"It's Valentine's Day."

"Yes. A holiday I have avoided celebrating for the past few years. No need to ruin a perfectly good Sunday."

"Come on Veronica. This year is different." Logan turned on to his side to face her.

"And why is that?" Veronica was now facing him, too.

"Because we're together this year. We've never been together for Valentine's Day."

"True." Veronica seemed to consider this for a moment.

"Come on Veronica," Logan said. He reached out and took Veronica's hand where it was laying on the comforter. He ran his fingers through hers gently. "I love you. I just want to celebrate with you. Don't you want that?"

Veronica looked at their joined hands. She let a smile spread slowly across her face. "Yeah," she said quietly. "I guess I would."

* * *

Valentine's Day morning, Veronica woke up to Logan pulling her close to him and offering her a chocolate heart he had grabbed off his nightstand. "Be my Valentine?" he asked.

Veronica swallowed the laugh rising in her throat. "Don't go getting sappy on me," she said. "But for the chocolate, yes." She rolled over and kissed him.

"Be right back," he said slipping out of bed and pulling on a t-shirt.

Veronica rolled to her back and rested her arm under her head. Taser came up from the end of the bed and cuddled up next to her, and she began to pet him. After a few minutes, she called, "Logan? What are you doing?"

"Coming, hold on," he called back. Finally, he reentered the room carrying a tray of breakfast. "Breakfast in bed," he said.

Veronica smiled at him. He had made eggs, bacon, and toast. There were also cups of coffee and orange juice for each of them. "Okay, I'm definitely rethinking my thoughts on Valentine's day now."

They ate leisurely in bed. Logan made a move to get up and clear away the tray, but Veronica captured his wrist with her hand and pulled him back to her. He simply let the tray remain on the nightstand as Veronica pulled him down into a passionate kiss. She rolled back pulling him with her until he hovered over her.

"And I liked Valentine's Day before," Logan said lying on the bed with Veronica wrapped in his arms. They usually had great sex, but this had been beyond amazing.

Veronica grinned at him. "I have a present for you." She rolled over to her side of the bed and pulled a wrapped gift from under the bed. The day before she had been trying to wrap it without him seeing it. It had proven harder that she would have thought. Finally, she smuggled it into the bathroom and told him she was taking a shower. "Here," she said handing him the box.

"Wow, it's big." Logan sat up taking the gift from her. Before opening it, he tossed Veronica his t-shirt for her to put on. She pulled the shirt over her head and sat up next to Logan.

Logan tore the gift-wrap from the present. Inside was a framed picture. Logan examined it for a moment. It was clearly something Veronica had made. There were a number of different photographs developed on the same paper, each one fading and blurring at the edges before blending into another picture. The photos over lapped each other at uneven places creating a very artist and appealing set of images.

What Logan found most striking were the photographs themselves. The one in the center was from just a week or so before; they had been down in the Presidio walking Taser, and Veronica had held her arm out with the camera to capture a photo of them both in front of the Golden Gate Bridge. The other photos were from various stages of their relationship, from high school to the present.

"Wow," he said smiling at her. "It's great."

"You like it? I thought maybe we could hang it up somewhere."

"Definitely." He leaned forward and gave her a kiss. "I have something for you, too."

He reached into the drawer of his nightstand. "Here. It is kind of a work in progress."

Veronica took the black box from him. It was about the size of a piece of paper. She slowly opened it to find Logan's printed manuscript inside. She gave him a puzzled look. "It isn't really finished," he explained. "That is the first draft, but I want you to be the first to read it."

Veronica smiled at him. "Really?" she asked. She had never pushed Logan to read anything before it was published.

"Yeah. Well, other than the publishers of course. They got a copy Friday." Veronica noticed that Logan actually looked a bit nervous. "Turn the page." Slowly she turned the page. The second page was blank aside for three short lines.

_For Veronica_

_-No one writes songs about the ones that come easy_

Veronica stared at the page. She was hit with the thought; this book would be published, with that dedication. Anyone who bought or read Logan's book would see his dedication to her. "Oh my god," she whispered.

"Do you like it?" Logan asked hesitantly.

"Logan, it's… wow." Logan broke into a grin and pulled her into a kiss.


	21. Chapter 21

Toward the end of February, Logan was at home trying frantically to work past his recent onset of writer's block. He was attempting to rewrite chapters in his manuscript, which were not living up to expectations. His phone rang. He nearly didn't answer it, but at this point, any distraction, even a telemarketer, would have been welcome. "Hello?"

"Logan?" a woman's voice asked at the other end.

"Yeah."

"Logan, it's Leslie. I'm calling about Veronica." Her tone was solemn.

Logan felt panic course through his body. "What about her? Is she okay?"

"She's at the hospital. Something happened in the field."

"What? What happened?" Logan was on his feet searching desperately for his keys, which were nowhere they should have been. "Is she okay?"

"I don't know anything more about it. We just got word back at the office, so I called you. I didn't know if anyone would know to contact you."

Logan found his keys on the counter, where he could have sworn he had already looked three times. "What hospital?"

"San Francisco General." Leslie added, "Call me on my cell when you know something."

"Okay." Logan put Taser in his crate and hurried out the door. As he got into the elevator, he flipped open his phone. "Keith," he said quickly as the man answered the phone.

"I just got off the phone with the hospital, Logan," Keith said. "Do you know anything else?"

"I don't know anything. Leslie just called me and said Veronica was at the hospital. I'm on my way there. What do you know?"

"She is unconscious. She got into a physical struggle with a suspect."

Logan inhaled sharply. "How bad?"

"They thought I should fly up. I'm on my way to the airport."

"Shit," Logan said. He ran out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened and began to frantically try to hail a cab. "I'm on my way there. I'll call you when I know something."

When Logan got to the hospital, his panic only increased. He rushed into the emergency room, where the only information he could get was that Veronica was there and being examined. They wouldn't tell him anything or let him anywhere near her. "I'm sorry sir, but you aren't family," the nurse said dismissively.

"She's my girlfriend. We live together." Logan was nearly yelling.

"I'm sorry. We can only give the information to her next of kin and visitation is only for family members."

"Her father is flying up from San Diego as we speak," Logan said. He had tried to call Keith, but his phone had been off. Logan had assumed he was already on the plane.

As Keith got off the elevator having been directed from the ER to the intensive care unit, he saw Logan sitting on a plastic chair in the waiting area. The young man was staring straight ahead and not moving. Keith had never seen Logan look so pale. "Logan," he called out.

"Oh thank god," Logan replied. "They won't tell me a thing because I'm not family."

"Don't worry. I'll find something out." Keith placed a hand on Logan's shoulder before walking to the desk. "Excuse me," he said to the nurse behind the desk. "My daughter is supposed to be here. Her name is Veronica Mars."

"Just let me check sir." The nurse began to look at the information in front of her. Logan had stood up when Keith had arrived and was now standing just behind him. "Ms. Mars is still being examined," the nurse explained. "A doctor will probably be out soon to give you an update. We'll be sure to let them know a family member has arrived."

Logan sighed in annoyance. "Come on, Logan," Keith said guiding Logan back to the chairs. "Let's sit down and wait."

After five minutes of waiting, Logan couldn't sit still anymore and began to pace. A doctor didn't appear with an update for another five minutes after that. "Mars?" The doctor glanced around the waiting room. He looked to be in his late forties with dark hair and tanned skin. He wore traditional green scrubs.

Keith stood up, and Logan followed behind him toward the doctor. "Yes," Keith said. "Is she okay?"

"You're Ms. Mars' father. Is that correct?"

"Yes," Keith said. The doctor's gaze shifted to Logan. "Please just tell us how she is," Keith said.

The doctor nodded. "Ms. Mars was brought in unconscious. She sustained some head trauma. She regained consciousness after about 30 minutes." Logan let out a sigh of relief, but Keith had a feeling there was more to it. The doctor continued. "However, she sustained a number of injuries, and we had to sedate her for some of the examinations. She has a sprained wrist and some broken rips. There is concern of internal bleeding, so we need to observe her closely. It will be a while longer before she regains consciousness."

"Can we see her?" Keith asked placing a hand on Logan's arm, attempting to calm him down.

"You can, sir, but I am afraid that we only allow visitation by family in ICU." The doctor glanced at Logan, who looked ready for a fight.

"He's family," Keith said simply. "California protects rights of domestic-partners; they live together." Logan breathed a sigh of relief. He knew he had rights to see Veronica; he was just unsure how to address it.

The doctor gave Keith an annoyed look but seemed to give in. "I'll have a nurse show you to her room. I'll be by to check her status later."

The same nurse Keith had spoken to when he first got there showed them to Veronica's room. Logan felt like he was going to be sick. Seeing Veronica hooked up to monitors was nearly too much for him. "God," he breathed out. Keith was already standing at Veronica's bedside, gently tucking strands of loose hair behind her ear, but Logan had remained in the doorway. He was leaning on the doorframe.

"Logan?" Keith asked. Logan stared at him. "Come on."

Logan walked cautiously into the room and stood next to Keith. His eyes were glued to Veronica, her body lying motionless in the bed. "She looks so…" Logan whispered. He couldn't finish though. He didn't know how to explain how she looked. Veronica was usually so lively, so strong, so vibrant.

"She'll be okay," Keith said confidently.

"How do you know?" Logan was sitting down on a chair next to Veronica's bed. His elbows rested on his knees, and he was leaning forward with his head in his hands.

"I've been taking care of Veronica when she was sick since she was born. She'll get better. She's strong." Keith bent down and kissed Veronica's forehead. Turning to Logan, he said, "I need to go call Linda."

Logan nodded. He watched Keith leave the room then turned his attention back to Veronica. He reached out and took her hand. "Veronica, you have to be okay." He brought her hand to his lips, kissing it gently. "I love you. I can't lose you."

* * *

Veronica blinked awake with no idea where she was. Her whole body felt sore and her head was pounding. She squinted. Her father was asleep in a chair at her side; his feet up in another chair. Shifting her line of sight, she saw Logan pacing at the foot of the bed. His hair was completely disheveled and becoming more so as he ran his hand through it. "Logan?" she asked in a hoarse voice.

He stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her. With a deep breath in, he smiled. "Thank god." In an instant, he was at her side. He pressed the call button to page a doctor. He looked down at her. He wanted to reach out and hug and kiss her, but he worried about hurting her. Finally, he gently touched her cheek. "Are you okay? How do you feel?"

"Logan, I'm confused. What happened...?" She trailed off as her father woke up at the talking.

"Veronica, oh. I'm so glad you're awake. I was so worried." Keith ran his hands down either side of her face and kissed her forehead. "I'm too old for that kind of scare."

"Dad, what…?" Veronica was interrupted again as a nurse entered the room.

"Ms. Mars, how are you feeling?" the nurse asked as she began to check the monitors. "The doctor is right behind me."

The same doctor who had spoken to Keith and Logan in the waiting room entered. "Alright, let's take a look." He shined a light in Veronica's eyes and did some other tests. "So it seems you sustained a mild head injury," he explained. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore, and my head is pounding." Veronica glanced up between everyone in the room.

"She said she was confused," Logan said. "When she first woke up."

"Ms. Mars, do you remember what happened today?" Veronica shook her head. "Okay, well that is not uncommon. How about these gentlemen? Do you know who they are?"

"Yeah, Logan and my dad," Veronica replied with a smile. "And my name is Veronica Mars, and it is 2016. Does someone want to hold up some fingers?"

"What was confusing you?" the doctor asked making notes.

"Nothing, it's fine. And, I think I'm starting to remember what happened this afternoon. I remember being out on a case, and we cornered a suspect. I think he grabbed me…" Veronica trailed off and reached up to touch her head. "I feel all… fuzzy."

Suddenly, the monitors began to beep erratically and Veronica's hand fell back to her side. "Veronica!" Logan nearly screamed.

He tried to reach her, but the doctor pushed him out of the way. He began to check her vitals. The nurse was pressing a button and soon a team joined them in the room. Logan and Keith were both pushed back against a wall.

"We need to check for internal bleeding and run some more tests," the doctor said as they began to wheel Veronica out of the room.

Logan and Keith sat in Veronica's room in silence for nearly fifteen minutes. Finally, a nurse returned and said, "There is evidence of some internal bleeding, so Ms. Mars has been taken into surgery. You are welcome to go up to the surgical waiting room, and they will keep you update there."

As they were riding in the elevator up to the surgical floor, Logan said, "I wish they would stop referring to her as 'Ms. Mars.' It sounds so ominous." Keith gave Logan a pained look. "Sorry," Logan said. "I tend to say inappropriate things when I'm worried."

"It's fine." Keith ran a hand over his face. "I know what you mean." They checked in at the desk on the surgical floor and were told to have a seat and someone would be out to update them shortly.

When a doctor finally came out to speak with them, Logan was relieved to discover he seemed much friendlier that the one they had met downstairs. "I'm Dr. Grant," the man introduced himself. "You must be Ms. Mars' father." He greeted Keith and then turned to Logan. "Making you Logan?"

Logan nodded. "How did you…?"

"She woke up for a moment when we were prepping her for surgery and was asking for both of you." Keith took in a staggered breath. Logan realized instantly that Keith was struggling with the same thought he was. Veronica asked for him, and he wasn't able to be there. "It will probably be another hour or so before we know anything. If you want to head home, we can call you with any updates."

"I'm not going anywhere," Logan said assertively and sat down on a waiting room chair.

Dr. Grant nodded. "We'll keep you updated."

Keith sat down with Logan to wait. After about thirty minutes, Logan stood up. "Do you want some coffee?" he asked Keith.

"Sure that sounds good." Logan wandered down to find coffee. When he came back, Keith was looking at a photo in his wallet. Logan sat down next to him and handed him the coffee. As Logan glanced at the wallet in Keith's hand, he said, "I was just looking at this." He passed the wallet to Logan. "It's one of my favorites."

Logan took the wallet and looked at the picture. "Oh yeah," he said looking at the picture. It was of Veronica; she must have been eight or nine in the photo. She was sitting on the branch of a tree. Her blond hair was pulled back into two braids, and she was wearing denim overalls. "Her smile," Logan said quietly.

"It's always been just the same," Keith said. He took his wallet back and glanced at the picture again before closing it and returning it to his pocket. He sighed audibly.

Logan put his hand on Keith's shoulder. "She'll be alright. She has to be." Keith simply nodded.

It was nearly eight o'clock by the time the doctor came back out to talk to them. Logan and Keith were both on their feet as soon as they saw Dr. Grant walking toward them. "She's out of surgery," he said. "We were able to stop the bleeding, and she is stable." Keith and Logan both breathed sighs of relief. "She is still under sedation and will remain so until morning. We won't know for sure how she is until she wakes up." Logan and Keith both began to open their mouths. "I'll take you to see her," Dr. Grant said anticipating their question.

Logan had nearly as hard of a time entering the hospital room this time as he did before. Seeing Veronica at all now though was making it easier. Keith was sitting down next to Veronica's bed. Logan crossed to the opposite side of the bed and stood over Veronica brushing her hair from her face. They spent about ten minutes watching her unconscious form and reassuring themselves that she would be okay. Then, a male nurse entered the room. "I'm sorry gentlemen, but visiting hours are ending. It might be wise for you to go home and get some sleep anyway. You can come back in the morning."

Logan sat rooted in his chair and looked at the man. "I'm not leaving," he said simply.

"It's hospital policy, sir. Besides, visitation is supposed to be family only." The nurse stood his ground.

Logan rose to his feet. All his patience had run out, and he had a feeling his strategies he had learned in the anger management classes he took in college weren't going to be helping him. He was ready to clock the guy.

"Logan," Keith said noticing the look on Logan's face. "We just got in the room," he said to the nurse. "She's been in surgery all evening. Perhaps you could check with Dr. Grant."

It seemed that Dr. Grant had fought for Keith and Logan, who didn't have anyone else ask them to leave. Around nine-thirty, Logan turned to Keith, "Do you want to go back to Veronica and my place and shower or get some rest? After flying up here and sitting around waiting all day, you must need to recuperate some or at least clean up." Keith glanced at Veronica with concern. "I'll call you if anything changes," Logan added.

"Actually a shower sounds really nice," Keith said nodding. "Anything you need from your place? Clean shirt?" Keith asked.

"Sure," Logan replied. "I called and asked Mike to go pick up Taser. Could you check that he actually did? Maybe call Mac while you're out of the hospital, too. I told her we would keep her updated."

"No problem." Keith stood up. "Call me if anything changes, good or bad," he said walking to the door.

Logan scooted his chair closer to Veronica's bed and rested his head on the mattress. He took her hand in one of his. "Please Veronica, be okay," he whispered.


	22. Chapter 22

Logan woke up and took a moment to figure out where he was and what had woken him. His neck was stiff and he was sleeping slumped over. He blinked his eyes open, and in front of his face was his hand, fingers intertwined with Veronica's. Suddenly, he remembered exactly where he was. As he watched their hands, he suddenly knew just what had woken him up.

He sat up quickly as Veronica's fingers moved just slightly again. "Veronica?" he asked. "Veronica, wake up." He reached out and touched her face.

Keith stirred in the chair across the bed. "Keith," Logan said. "I think she is waking up."

Keith got up and stood next to the bed, leaning over Veronica. "Veronica, sweetheart?"

"Mmmm," Veronica moaned and moved her head slightly.

Logan reached up and pressed the button to page the nurses' station. "Veronica?" he asked again.

"Uhh… 'ogan?" Veronica murmured. She tightened her grip on his hand. She blinked and opened her eyes.

"Oh sweetie, thanks god," Keith said.

"Dad?" Veronica said shifting her sight from Logan to her father. "Am I okay?"

"The doctor should be on the way," Keith said. Veronica was looking between her father and Logan. Logan hadn't said anything for a while; he was just staring down at Veronica.

"I hear someone finally decided to wake up," Dr. Grant joked as he entered the room followed by a nurse. He walked over to the side of Veronica's bed, and Keith stepped aside a bit to let him. "Ms. Mars, I'm Dr. Grant. How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Okay I think. I'm sore," Veronica replied. "Really sore."

"That is to be expected. You'll need to take it easy for a while." Dr. Grant set down his clipboard. "I need to take a look at your incision." The nurse moved to the other side of the bed and Logan scooted more toward Veronica's head. The nurse folded down the blanket to Veronica's waist and helped her lift her gown, so Dr. Grant could examine the incision on her abdomen.

"It looks healthy and just as it should." Dr. Grant lifted his hands. "I'm going to press on your abdomen just to check for swelling. We need to be sure that the bleeding was completely stopped with the surgery." He helped pull Veronica's gown back down. "It looks good, but we'll need to keep an eye on it to make sure it stays that way. I'll be back to check on you later."

"Thanks," Veronica said.

Logan just stood next to Veronica's bed, but Keith sat down gently on the edge. He ran his hand along Veronica's cheek. "God, I'm so glad you're okay," he said. "I was so worried." He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I love you so much. I couldn't even imagine if…" He sighed.

"I love you too, Dad," Veronica replied squeezing his hand.

"I need to go call Linda. She'll be a wreck, not having heard anything since last night." He bent down and kissed Veronica again. "Logan, your clean shirt is on the back of the chair." Keith nodded to the chair he had been sleeping in when Logan awoke.

"Thanks," Logan replied. His mouth felt dry, so he closed it quickly again.

As Keith left the room, Veronica turned to look at Logan. "So…?" she began. Logan wouldn't look at her. "Logan?" she asked. She reached down and grabbed his hand, pulling on it slightly.

Finally, he turned to look at her, and Veronica could have sworn she saw tears in his eyes. He pulled at the sleeve of his shirt fidgeting with the cuff between his fingers. His breath was ragged. Veronica tugged on his hand gently, urging him to sit down on the edge of the bed. As he did, it was like something broke. "God, Veronica, thank god you're okay." He leaned down and hugged her, being careful not to hurt her. As he sat back up, he kissed her forehead. "You scared the shit out of me."

Veronica reached up and brushed a tear from Logan's cheek. She said quietly, "I'm sorry I scared you." Logan leaned down again, but this time, he captured her lips with his. "So why'd my dad say you had a clean shirt on the chair?"

"Oh, well he went back to our place last night to shower and rest for a little while. Though, I'm guessing he didn't stay long. He brought me a clean shirt to change into."

"Yeah, I was gonna say," Veronica replied with a smirk. "But seriously, you stayed here all night?"

"Of course I did. What if you had woken up? Or needed me? Or…?" Logan trailed off. He couldn't voice the final 'or'.

Veronica smiled up at him. "I love you," she said.

"I love you too."

* * *

Veronica eventually convinced Logan to go home and shower. While he was at the apartment, he called their friends to update everyone on Veronica's status and check with Mike and Juliana if they were okay keeping Taser for the rest of the day.

He was back at the hospital by noon. Keith had spent the morning with Veronica, though she had spent a good deal of it asleep. When Logan got back to the hospital, Keith excused himself to go find something to eat. Veronica and Logan talked some and eventually found a movie to watch on the TV. Keith returned a ways into the movie.

By evening, Keith had gone back to the apartment. He was going to fly back to San Diego the following afternoon, assuming everything was still going well for Veronica. Logan was refusing to leave the hospital again. "You might need me," he kept telling Veronica. He had no intention on being away from her if that was the case. Veronica fell asleep around eight, and Logan pulled out his computer to work on revisions on his manuscript.

An hour or so later, Veronica began to stir uncomfortable. She woke up nearly hyperventilating. "Veronica? What is it?" Logan asked. "Are you in pain?" Logan was petrified that a complication with her injuries had developed.

Veronica shook her head. "Dream," she managed to say. She couldn't remember the whole dream, but it had ended in the warehouse where she had been in the struggle with the suspect, the event that had put her in the hospital.

Logan leaned over her and brushed away the hair clinging to her forehead, which was sticky with sweat. "You're okay," he said comfortingly. "You're safe." He placed a gentle kiss on forehead.

She grabbed his hand that was resting next to her. "Thanks," she said. She closed her eyes briefly. "Logan?" she questioned.

"Yeah?"

"Would you lie down with me?" Logan glanced hesitantly toward the door. He was already pushing things by being in the hospital after visiting hours, but he had endeared himself to the older women on the nursing staff, and they convinced everyone else to leave him alone. "Just for a little while?"

Logan smiled at Veronica and stood up, setting the computer on his chair. He crawled up onto the small hospital bed, being careful not to hurt Veronica. She adjusted slightly, so she could rest her head on his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her and pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head. "I love you," he whispered.

"Me too."

* * *

When Veronica finally got to go home, Logan was sure the entire hospital staff was grateful. She had become rather difficult in her last few days, frustrated with being cooped up. He brought the nursing staff good coffee one last time. He now knew each nurse's preferred beverage. He had found that to be the best way to not have anyone question him being there after hours, particularly the night staff.

"Is Taser home?" Veronica asked as they got into the cab leaving the hospital.

"Yeah, Mike took him for a walk after work, but he is at the apartment now."

Veronica smiled. "I've missed him."

"He's missed you too. Keeps looking at me like I did something to take you away." Veronica laughed.

As they entered the apartment, she said, "It'll be nice to sleep in our bed tonight."

"Definitely," Logan agreed. "It'll be wonderful to have you home."

When they got inside, Veronica sat down on the floor carefully to pet Taser, who was enthusiastic as ever. He climbed in her lap and kissed her face. "Taser, stop it," she said with a laugh.

Lying in bed that night, Logan's arms were wrapped around Veronica, and Taser was asleep at their feet. "Veronica," Logan began.

"Mmhmm," she murmured.

"You can't scare me like that again. Okay?"

Veronica turned to face him. "I'll do my best." She kissed him gently on the lips.

* * *

Veronica had only been home for just over a week, but the "taking it easy", as the Dr. Grant had called it, was killing her. Logan came into the apartment one evening from a meeting at the publishing house, and Veronica met him at the door. She grabbed his arm and pulled him inside quickly. She then looked through the peephole.

"What are you doing?" Logan asked with amusement.

"You know Mr. Wilkins down the hall?" Veronica asked turning around.

"Yeah," Logan said sitting down on the couch with a smirk.

"I think he is up to something," Veronica replied looking back out the eyehole again.

Logan laughed. "Up to what?" He stood up and walked over to Veronica.

"I don't know. He keeps going to the elevator, and then he is gone for like five minutes and comes right back up. Maybe he is a drug dealer or something. I don't know, but I'm sure he is up to something."

"Okay, no more Hitchcock movies for you" Logan said. He put his arm around Veronica and led her away from the door. "Are you getting a little bored at home?"

"I'm not crazy Logan," she said sitting down grudgingly. "Fine, I might be a bit bored."

"You get to go back to work next week," Logan replied.

"Yeah, to desk work. I can't be back in the field for another two weeks."

Logan kissed her cheek and stood up. "How about I order Thai for dinner? You've been craving that curry for a while."

Veronica nodded. "Sure, that sounds good."

They ate a relaxing dinner and then took Taser to his obedience class. As they were riding the elevator back up, Mr. Wilkins joined them. "Hello, Mr. Wilkins," Logan greeted. Then he grinned at Veronica, who glared at him in return.

After getting back to the apartment, they both read in the living room. Veronica had finished Logan's manuscript in the week following Valentine's Day, and now, she was reading the current round of revisions. Logan seemed to finally be done making changes and was taking the chance to read something someone else had written.

"I'm tired," Veronica finally said. "I'm going to get ready for bed."

"I'll join you," Logan said standing. He helped Veronica to her feet as well. Pulling her with more force than necessary, so she collided with him, and he could wrap his arm around her. She laughed. Logan used the bathroom first, and Veronica was changing when he came back into the bedroom. Logan slid behind her and kissed her neck, running his hand across her bare stomach.

"Logan, stop." Veronica suddenly tensed and turned away from him.

"What?" Logan was completely confused. He and Veronica hadn't been able to have sex since her surgery; they still had another three days before the doctor advised resuming "normal activity", which apparently included sex. But, they had still been affectionate over that time though.

"Just don't," Veronica said as she walked away from him and to the bathroom.

When Veronica returned from the bathroom, Logan was in bed. She instinctively cuddled up next to him, and as he kissed her gently, she embraced the kiss and deepened it. Logan was even more confused but was definitely not going to complain. As he continued to kiss her, he ran his hand down her side and began to play with the hem of her shirt. Again, she tensed and pulled away.

"Veronica?" he asked. "What is it?" Veronica didn't respond but rolled on to her back. When she adjusted her tank top was when Logan finally put it together. "Veronica? Does this have something to do with your surgery?" His hand had run across her surgical scar when she had told him to stop, and it was getting awfully close to the same location just a moment before.

Veronica glanced at him, but she still didn't say anything. "Did I hurt you?" Logan suddenly asked with concern.

Finally she spoke. "No, it didn't hurt."

"Then what is it?" Logan was on his side facing Veronica now, and he urged her to turn on her side as well.

"I just…" Veronica sighed. Finally, she just blurted out what she was feeling. "I'm not comfortable with the scar. That's all."

Logan almost laughed but stopped himself. He didn't want to make her feel worse. "I've seen your scar about a hundred times, though."

"It's different when you're…" she paused, "… you know."

"Oh, Veronica." Logan leaned forward and kissed her. "You're so beautiful, and honestly, I kind of find the scar to be sexy."

She laughed. "Sexy? Really?" She sounded skeptical.

"Yep," Logan reach down and pulled up her shirt, so he could see it. He ran his fingers over it. "It shows that whole other side to you that I love. You're tough and passionate." Logan was sitting up now and had rolled Veronica back on to her back. He leaned down and kissed the scar gently. "And feisty" he added.

Veronica laughed. "If you say so."

"Plus, it is such a little scar. It's cute." Logan grinned at her. "Like you. You're little and cute, too."

"I'll risk returning to normal activity too soon to kick your ass if I need to," Veronica replied.

"That won't be necessary." Logan leaned down and kissed her on the lips.


	23. Chapter 23

"So what do you think?" Mac asked as she and Veronica stared at brochure after brochure of potential wedding venues spread out on Veronica and Logan's dining room table.

"Well, I like the Asian Art Museum, but it seems a little too _formal_, I guess, kind of stuffy maybe. The Pavilion is good, and you can do outside there. The Presidio Golden Gate Club looks amazing, too. God that view." Veronica picked the flyer up again. "I'm starting to see the draw of a wedding."

"Really?" Mac asked, glancing to where Logan was sitting on the couch.

"No, not really," Veronica hissed at her. "Don't say anything." Veronica shifted her focus to the computer. "I think this is my favorite," she said pointing to the screen. The browser was open to a page on the Foreign Cinema. "It can only have 100 guest seated though."

"I don't think we want the ceremony any larger than that anyway." Mac looked at the screen.

"It seems the most like you to me," Veronica said. Mac nodded in agreement. "Should we call?" Veronica asked.

"Yeah," Mac picked up her phone.

While Mac was making the phone call, Veronica wandered into the living room and sat down next to Logan. "Having fun?" he asked.

"Yeah. I guess." Veronica glanced back toward Mac. "She's happy." It was a simple observation.

"She's in love," Logan said. He leaned over and kissed Veronica. "When are you girls shopping for honeymoon lingerie? I could help with that."

"Way to ruin the mood." Veronica nudged his shoulder with hers and got up to go back and join Mac who was now hanging up the phone.

"It's available," Mac said. "I just need to see if Kevin is happy with it. What time is it? He said he would be over here at five."

"Five-fifteen," Logan said from the couch. "Hey Veronica, come take a look at this," he said.

"Mmhmm," Veronica said plopping down on the couch next to him. Logan had his computer open and was looking at the proposed schedule for his book tour. Veronica looked at it.

"Do you think you could get a few days off?" Logan asked pointing at the dates for Boston, Hartford, and Philadelphia, which were the first of his stops.

"Probably." She smiled at him. "I can't believe you're doing a tour. I'm proud of you," she whispered.

"He's almost here," Mac said hanging up the phone. "Where are we meeting everyone tonight?"

"The bar down the street. We convinced them to come this way," Logan said, leaving off the reason why. Tonight was the first time they were meeting up for the normal Saturday night out with everyone since Veronica's incident. Logan was worried about how she would do, but she was going back to work on Monday, so he figured he needed to accept it.

When Kevin arrived, Mac and Veronica were back at the dining room table; they were now discussing colors. "Well, because of the exposed concrete walls and the browns and reds of the room, maybe you should use colors that go with that. Something like this?" Veronica was pointing at a picture in a magazine.

"I like those," Mac said. "Or, these."

"I think the brown and red are nice," Veronica confirmed. "It seems good for fall too." As Kevin came over and Mac began to show him the things she and Veronica had looked at, Veronica said, "I'm going to go change before we leave."

Veronica slipped into the bedroom. Logan followed her shortly. At her puzzled look, he said, "I'm changing my shirt."

"Sure," she replied doubtfully.

"I am." To demonstrate, Logan removed a black shirt with white pinstripes from the closet. He held the shirt up and grinned at Veronica.

"Okay fine," she said. "You came in to change your shirt, but we have company shouldn't one of us be out there."

"Believe me, Mac and Kevin will be fine. They are talking about their upcoming nuptials." Logan removed his shirt and pulled on a clean black t-shirt. "They seem really happy." Logan crossed to Veronica.

"Yeah," she agreed slipping on a clean pair of jeans.

"You seem to be enjoying helping with the wedding planning?" Logan said sliding his arms around Veronica's waist from behind.

"I guess so," Veronica replied. She spun around in Logan's arms and kissed him quickly on the lips before pulling away. She moved to the closet a found a black camisole and gray sweater to wear over the top.

The kiss was designed to seem like a sign of affection, which might have fooled someone else, but Logan immediately noticed it as an evasion. He decided to let it go for now. He pulled on his button-up shirt over his t-shirt. "Come on. We should get going," he said. "Everyone else will already be at the bar."

Veronica nodded with a smile slipping her sweater on. "I'm ready." They went back to the living room and along with Mac and Kevin they headed out for the bar.

When they arrived at the bar, Leslie, Jack, Holly, Mike, Juliana, and Jeremy, were all sitting at a large booth. Holly was joined by Drew, a guy she had been dating for a few weeks. Juliana was comfortably nursing a soda water while everyone else drank cocktails. Kevin and Logan slipped over to the bar to get drinks for Mac, Veronica, and themselves.

When they got back to the booth, the women, other than Veronica, were all gushing over Mac's ring. The group fell into their usual evening of conversation. Veronica was enjoying finally being out with everyone after being in the hospital. Mike had convinced Veronica to dance with him at some point.

Logan remained sitting in the booth when Leslie slipped in and sat next to him. "So, what's up?" Leslie asked.

"Nothing," Logan replied. His eyes still glued to Veronica.

"No go on that one. I saw you looking at Veronica when Mac was showing off her ring. That look definitely said something was up. What is it?"

"It's nothing," Logan said. "Really."

"Did you ask her to marry you?" Leslie asked.

Logan looked up at her in shock. "No, of course not."

"It came up though, didn't it?" Leslie asked. "That she doesn't want to get married?"

Logan gave her a look that confirmed all of Leslie's suspicions. He said finally, "It isn't like I want to get engaged right now. It is just the idea that she never wants to." Logan sighed. "I mean I know why. After her parents and doing all that investigation into cheating spouses when she was young, why would she want to get married?"

"There is something else, you know…" Leslie said. Logan looked at her with interest. "I'm not sure I should be telling you this, but she obviously hasn't, and you should know."

"What is it?" Logan asked.

Leslie sighed. "She almost got engaged a couple years ago."

"What?" Logan asked completely shocked. He was staring back at where Veronica was dancing and laughing at something Mike was saying. Mac and Kevin were dancing nearby.

"His name was Alex," Leslie said. "Has she mentioned him?"

"He came up… when we were talking about past relationships once. I knew he was the only serious relationship she had had recently, but I didn't know it was that serious."

"It wasn't really," Leslie explained. "I don't think she would have really married him. He wasn't you after all." She smiled at Logan.

"Well she doesn't want to marry me either," Logan replied solemnly.

"It's different Logan." Leslie put a hand on his arm. "When she was with Alex, hell when she has been with any guy, anything she doesn't like about them gets compared to you." Leslie laughed slightly. "If I hadn't heard the other stories as well, I would have assumed you were perfect."

Logan laughed as well. "Far from it," he said.

"Not to her," Leslie said glancing at Veronica. "Anyway, Alex proposed and she said she needed to think about it. I'm sure she would have said no in the end. As it turns out, it was a good idea. He was cheating on her."

Logan nodded sadly. "Well... I'd never do that to her, and she should know that." His voice sounded bitter, and he knew it.

"She does Logan." Leslie's tone was reassuring. "It doesn't make the prospect any less scary. Besides, like you said, it isn't like that is her only issue surrounding marriage." Veronica was now standing at the bar talking to Mac and Holly. "Does it matter that much?" Leslie asked Logan.

"I guess not," he said with a sigh. "I just want to be with her, and I want her to want to be with me."

"She does," Leslie replied simply and stood up as Veronica came over to sit back down.

After a while of sitting and talking to Mike and Juliana, Logan turned to Veronica, "So you have a dance saved in you for me?"

Veronica smiled at him. "Always."

They stood up, and he led her to the dance floor. About a minute into the song, he asked, "So were you ever going to tell me about Alex?"

She looked puzzled. "I've told you about Alex," she replied.

"That's not what I meant," Logan said. He ran his hand across her back gently to let her know this wasn't intended to be a fight.

"Leslie told you didn't she?" Veronica asked. She shook her head. "It isn't a big deal, Logan. It doesn't have anything to do with us."

"Veronica…" Logan began.

"Logan, I mean it. It is ancient history." Silence fell between them.

He moved a hand to her face and cupped her cheek gently. "You know, I would never do anything like that to you," he said.

"Yeah. I know."

After they got home from the bar that night, Logan took Taser outside. When they didn't come back for a while, Veronica went down in search of them. She found Logan sitting on a bench in the grassy area behind the building. She sat down next to him. "You remember on Christmas night when I told you that I couldn't imagine getting married."

"Yes," Logan said quietly.

"Do you also remember that I said if I ever did get married I would want it to be to you?" Veronica took his hand. "That is true Logan, and I didn't not tell you about what happened with Alex because I worry that you'd do the same thing." She paused for a moment. "I never could have stayed with him anyway."

Logan finally spoke. "Why not?"

"Because he wasn't you," she said turning to face him. Logan leaned in quickly and captured her lips with his.

"Let's get back upstairs," he whispered against her lips.

Veronica laughed but allowed Logan to lead her back upstairs. They were barely into the apartment before he was attempting to remove her shirt. "Apparently, the fact that I can now return to normal activity wasn't forgotten."

He backed her into the bedroom. "Not even for a moment," Logan replied guiding her to the bed.

* * *

Veronica sighed in contentment. "That might be the best sex we have ever had," she said. They were lying in bed, their limbs intertwined.

"Might be?" Logan asked.

"Well there have been more than a few impressive encounters. Saying it is the best might not be fair to some of the other experiences. I'd say top ten confidently."

"I vote top five. Though, there should probably be handicap for when we were younger. Lack of experience and all." Logan grinned at Veronica.

"Are you implying you lacked experience, or is that handicap just for me?" Veronica asked in mock anger.

"I was merely implying that at eighteen and nineteen, we were not as experienced as we are now. Though, I have to say, I think we were pretty damn good back then, too." Logan rolled over and kissed Veronica's hair. "Nothing like now though." He pulled her to him as they settled in to sleep.

* * *

Being able to go back to work was almost like a tease to Veronica. She was stuck in the office, which was some form of torture in her mind. It did beat being stuck at home all day, but she wanted to be back in the field. When the time for Logan's book tour to start finally came around, she was glad to escape the office for a while.

She and Logan had dropped Taser off with Mac and Kevin for the time they would be gone. Veronica had felt a little bit like she was abandoning him as he started to whine while they were leaving. She wondered how people handled such issues when they had children.

They had recently boarded the airplane and were waiting to take off. Veronica was focused on her book as Logan read over an itinerary for the tour. He was nervous Veronica knew. There seemed to be something more intimidating for him than any other book reading he had done. She rested a hand on his knee and rubbed her thumb in a circle absentmindedly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the corners of his lips pull up into a smile.

Two hours into the flight, Veronica had put her book away and was flipping through channels on the tiny TV screen on the seat in front of her. "Best airline ever," she said to Logan. He laughed and pulled an ear bud out of her ear, placing it in his own. "Hey," she said. "You have your own TV."

"I like watching with you more." They finally settled on a movie to watch turning both of their screens to the same channel. Veronica rested her head on Logan's shoulder.

By the end of the flight, they were through their second movie, and Logan was teasing Veronica that she had eaten her weight in snacks. "Unlimited snacks doesn't mean they are expected to last you for your entire stay in Boston," he joked.

Veronica shoved his shoulder. "I hardly think four snacks would last me, or anyone, three days."

The cab ride to their hotel was beautiful. They had landed just as evening fell and the Boston skyline was coming alive with the lights of the city. The hotel they were staying in was just blocks off of Boston Common. While Logan checked in, Veronica observed the gorgeous woodwork of the lobby. The hotel was beautiful and exactly what she had expected from a historic Boston hotel.

Their room was equally gorgeous. It contained a king size bed, a sofa, and two armchairs. Beautiful draperies hung from the windows, and the view of the city was to die for.

"Drink?" Logan asked as he moved the bags from where the bellhop had left them.

"Downstairs or from the mini-bar?" Veronica asked.

"Whichever you'd prefer."

"Downstairs. The bar looked interesting." Veronica crossed to her bag. "Let me just freshen up." She grabbed her toiletry bag and disappeared into the bathroom. Logan flopped himself onto the large bed to wait for her.

They made it downstairs to the famous whiskey bar, The Last Hurrah. They sat at the bar and ended up ordering small dishes of food to go with their drinks, having not eaten dinner because of the time of their flight.

The bar was fascinating, and the bartender equally so. He gave them a run down of must-dos in Boston. "It might seem too touristy, but if you've never done it, the Freedom Trail is really fascinating if you have any interest in US History," he explained. The man had worked as a bartender at The Last Hurrah for years and knew everything there was to know about the hotel and Boston.

"I feel like I just learned more than I did in most of my history classes," Logan said as they returned to their room.

"Maybe because you were actually paying attention." Veronica grinned at him.

"You think you are so clever," Logan replied wrapping an arm around her.


	24. Chapter 24

Boston and the remainder of the trip were wonderful. Veronica and Logan played tourist in between book readings and signings. She attended each one even though Logan said she didn't need to. "I like hearing you read your books," she had responded and kissed him quickly.

By the time they got home, Veronica was approved to begin fieldwork again. Logan had come back home with her Sunday. He had to leave for another leg of the tour the following Thursday, but he had thought being home for a while would be worth it.

Veronica was getting ready for work Monday morning, and Logan was uncharacteristically out of bed. He had made breakfast while she was in the shower, and now that she was out, he was sitting on their bed watching her get dressed. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Just watching you," he replied.

"Usually you aren't even awake at this point." Veronica buttoned her shirt and grabbed a jacket from the closet.

"Actually I am usually awake, and I usually watch you get dressed. I just don't usually alert you to my behavior."

"Worried I'll bring you in for questioning for voyeurism?" Veronica looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"I was more worried you'd start changing your clothes in the bathroom actually." Logan grinned at her.

"Like you don't see me undressed enough." She rolled her eyes and left the bedroom.

Logan followed her. "No such thing as enough. I am male you know."

Veronica just laughed. "I'm letting you off the hook today since you made breakfast," she said sitting down at the table and serving herself some eggs and bacon. Logan sat down next to her and began to dish some onto his plate as well.

While their banter had initially distracted her from it, Veronica found herself thinking about Logan's behavior on her way to work. He had been odd. When she got home from work, he seemed equally odd. She tried to dismiss it, but then after dinner they were walking Taser, and he asked, "So what did you do at work today?"

His asking about her day was not unusual, but something about the way he asked threw her. She responded normally anyway. "I met with an informant. I got moved onto an Innocence Lost taskforce. It's intense."

"Innocence Lost. That is the one to fight the human sex trafficking for children right?" Logan felt like he might be sick just thinking about the idea. He couldn't imagine how it would be to deal with it everyday.

"Yeah. Like I said, intense." Veronica stopped while Taser tugged against the leash sniffing a tree intently.

"Are you sure you can handle working on cases like that?" Logan asked with concern in his voice. The moment he asked Logan knew it was a mistake.

"Of course I can," Veronica snapped. "God Logan," she muttered under her breath and tugged on Taser's leash to force him into movement.

"I didn't mean it like that," Logan said catching up with her. "Hey," he said reaching out to touch her arm. "Veronica."

"Just leave it Logan," she replied. She honestly didn't want to have a conversation about this, and she didn't want him to apologize because that meant she needed to accept it. She was shocked when Logan listened and dropped the conversation. They talked of trivial things for the walk back to the apartment. Once they were upstairs, Veronica began to get ready for bed.

When Logan came to the bedroom awhile later, she didn't stop him from bringing up the conversation. "Veronica," he began. "I wasn't questioning your ability to do your job. I know you're a great agent." She looked up from her book and set it down on her lap. "I just worry about you because I love you." He sat on the bed next to her and offered a small smile.

She sighed. "I know," she replied. At his pressing look, she added, "I love you too." He leaned in and kissed her before going to get ready for bed himself.

* * *

The following night when Veronica got home from work she was completely wiped; worse that the exhaustion was the emotional effect of the new position. Sex crimes were always harder to deal with, and anything with children was just atrocious. This combined the two. She had been ready to break down the entire trip home from the office, but she had managed to make it into the apartment still composed.

Part of her completely wanted to collapse into Logan's arms and cry until she ran out of tears, but after their issue the night before, she couldn't bring herself to let him know the case was getting to her. Instead, she greeted him briefly and said, "I'm going to take a shower before dinner."

"Alright," Logan replied glancing up for just a moment from the computer screen where he was typing.

Veronica was barely in the shower before the tears were streaming down her face. She just stood under the flowing water unable to discern what came from the showerhead and what came from her eyes. When she was composed, she washed her hair and got out of the shower.

As she stood brushing her hair, she heard Logan call out, "Veronica? What do you want for dinner? Is the left over lasagna okay?"

"That's fine," she replied coming out of the bathroom. "I'm just going to go change."

At dinner that night, Logan asked about Veronica's day again. She dismissed his question and simply said, "It was fine."

"Okay," Logan replied. He didn't know what else to say. He could tell Veronica was blowing him off, but he didn't know what to do about it. He couldn't force her to open up; he knew that from experience.

* * *

Things continued getting tenser until Thursday. When Veronica got home, Logan was in the bedroom packing his suitcase. Veronica looked at it puzzled. "I'm leaving for Seattle tonight remember. Time for some more book readings," Logan said.

"Oh yeah. I guess I was just caught up and forgot it was Thursday." Veronica sat on the edge of the bed. "Did you want me to go with you to the airport?"

"No, it's fine." Logan's voice was a bit cold. Veronica hadn't really expected anything else. They both knew things hadn't been good that week. "I don't think we need to pretend things are better than they are," Logan said pointedly.

"Sorry for offering," Veronica snapped back. "It isn't like whatever this is is all my fault." She knew she was opening up a fight, and that when Logan was leaving was a bad time to do that, but at the moment, she didn't care.

"So, it's my fault?" Logan asked.

"I didn't say that," Veronica replied.

"You didn't have to." Logan walked back to the closet and grabbed more clothing. "It's pretty obvious in the way you've pushed me away all week."

"If you weren't hovering so much, maybe I wouldn't have to push you away." Veronica was standing now.

Logan shoved the last of his clothing into the suitcase and zipped it with more force than necessary. "Maybe you should think of why I would be hovering so much." He grabbed his bag and began to walk to the door. He stopped very abruptly and dropped his suitcase. "I can't leave like this," he muttered to himself.

"What?" Veronica asked. She couldn't hear him, but whatever he said seemed to be important to him.

"I can't leave like this, with us fighting." He spoke more loudly that time. He turned back to Veronica. "Do you really not know? Do you not know why I am acting the way I have been?" His tone was still harsh.

"No idea. All I know is you seem to want to know what I do every moment of everyday. It makes me insane." She was basically yelling and knew it.

"Come on Veronica, you're smarter than that." Logan was moving toward her, and his tone was matching hers. "I don't want to know everything you are doing. I just want to know enough that I know you are safe."

"Logan seriously? This again?" Veronica let out a sigh but kept the bite in her voice. "You can't guard me all the time. I can take care of myself!"

"Not all the time!" Logan was truly yelling now, and he really didn't care. "You can't always protect yourself!"

"I've done a pretty good job so far! Why can't you trust me with that?"

"Because you could have fucking died!" As he let out the last statement, Logan collapsed onto the armchair next to him.

Veronica was frozen and couldn't think of anything to say. She just stared at him for a moment until she realized that he had tears running down his face. "Oh Logan." She sat down on the coffee table in front of him.

"I saw you in that hospital bed, and I knew that if I ever lost you, I might as well be dead. I wouldn't be able to go on without you. You're all I have left."

His tears were heavier now, and Veronica realized all her anger was gone in the moment. "I'm not leaving you," she said reaching out for his hand. "I promise."

"Your job, though," Logan said. "Any day could be the day something like that happens again, and you might not be as lucky."

Veronica pulled him into a hug. "I promise you I'm careful. Even more than I was before. That experience scared me, too."

Logan had his arms wrapped tightly around Veronica now and pulled her onto his lap. "When we were sitting in that hospital room watching you, I just kept thinking about all the other people I have loved who…" Logan left off his final thoughts.

Veronica leaned back and ran her hand down Logan's cheek. "Logan, I know." Logan reached up and took hold of Veronica's hand where it rested on his cheek.

"I need to go," Logan said. "I'll miss my flight."

Veronica kissed Logan gently before she climbed off of his lap. "Are you sure you don't want me to go with you to the airport?"

"It's fine. I can tell you're tired." Logan kissed her gently. "I'll see you on Tuesday night. I love you."

* * *

Friday morning, Veronica woke up to a text message from Logan, which read _Landed in Seattle. Call you this evening. Love you._ She smiled as she read it and realized that their fight the night before had really been cathartic. She felt better about her relationship with Logan than she had in a long time.

Veronica was spending Saturday with Mac working on stuff for the wedding. They were going dress shopping and to solidify stuff at the venue.

"What do you think of this one?" Mac asked holding up a bridesmaid dress. They were in on of those large chain wedding dress shops.

Veronica looked at the dress. It was deep brown stain and fairly simple. Mac had settled on brown and red as her wedding colors. "It's nice."

"You've said that about every dress," Mac groaned. "This is hard enough. At least, give me some input."

"Honestly Mac, I don't think you're going to find any bridesmaid dresses you like at a place like this," Veronica said. She received a glare from the woman behind the counter and realized she probably should have been quieter.

"You're probably right." Mac stuck the dress back onto the rack. "Let's go." As they left the store, she added, "I was thinking I should just do the thing where I tell people a color and they buy their own dresses, but brown is a harder color to get the right shade in. That seems easier with like black."

"Let's go somewhere we would actually shop and check out the dresses," Veronica suggested.

They moved on to one of Veronica's favorite clothing stores. They perused the dress selection. "I like this one," Mac said. She pulled out a cappuccino colored dress from a rack. The dress was knee length and simple.

"I thought you were thinking chocolate brown for the bridesmaid dresses," Veronica said.

"I was initially, but I like these. Maybe the chocolate should be the accent color, and the lighter brown the more prominent one."

"That's a good idea. These would probably look cute with a belt thing," Veronica said. "You could do that in the deep brown."

"I like that idea," Mac said. "Look the dress comes in red too."

"I thought we decided no on red bridesmaid dresses?"

"We did, but I think your dress should be red," Mac stated matter-of-factly. "Here go try this on." She handed Veronica the red dress. Mac followed Veronica into the dressing room area. While Veronica went into the changing room, Mac continued, "I think that would still look cute with a deep brown sash. That would tie your dress in with the rest of the bridesmaids."

"Mmhm," Veronica agreed while trying on the dress.

"How's it look?" Mac asked.

"See for yourself." Veronica came out of the changing room.

"Wow, Veronica it looks great on you."

"You think?" Veronica turned to look in the mirror.

"I think we just solved the maid-of-honor dress situation. Here try this one on, so we know how the other color looks." Mac handed her the cappuccino colored dress as well.

* * *

Veronica was dead tired when she got home from the outing with Mac. They had been extremely successful however. They had settled on the dresses, and Mac was going to email the information to all her bridesmaids, so they would be able to go get their own in the correct size.

They had also gone to the Foreign Cinema, which had been settled on as the venue. They had met with the venue's caterer and looked at options for the menu. They had also looked in more detail at all the available areas to use for the wedding.

Walking into the apartment, Veronica had to force herself to walk Taser before she sat down. She was afraid she would never be able to stand up again. There was something about trying on dress after dress that was exhausting. She and Taser spent thirty minutes at the park, mainly playing fetch. After they got home and Veronica had eaten, she was sitting on the couch with Taser who was asleep with his head on her lap.

Her phone rang, and she leaned over to grab it off the end table, being careful not to disturb Taser. "Hey," she greeted knowing who was on the other end.

"Hi, it's me," Logan replied.

"I know. How was your day today?"

"Not as much fun alone, but I was pretty busy today. How was the day with Mac?"

"Insane. I think we got the dresses settled though."

"Yeah?" Logan asked. "What was the decision?"

Veronica doubted Logan had any real interest in the dresses, but she told him anyway. "She is going with kind of this light brown color with dark brown like sash, belt things for the bridesmaid dresses; they are knee length, strapless, and satin."

"I always like you in strapless," Logan replied. Veronica could almost hear his smile. "I'm not sure about you in light brown though."

"Well lucky thing I won't be then. Mac decided my dress should be a different color. She is going with red, still with the brown sash though."

"Red, satin?" Logan asked. He was picturing it in his mind.

"Hmm," Veronica said. Logan's comment had made her think of when Lilly had told her she was red satin not yellow cotton. She was suddenly lost in thought.

"What is it?" Logan asked pulling Veronica back to the present.

"Lilly once told me I was red satin, sophomore year, before homecoming. She said I insisted on hiding my hotness."

"You kind of did," Logan agreed. "You've made up for it though. Lilly certainly did see people for who they were."

"You think she was right?" Veronica asked. "I never thought you even noticed me like that, then."

"Sure I did. I was a guy. There were just a couple reasons I couldn't think about it."

"Duncan and Lilly," Veronica said.

"Duncan and Lilly," Logan repeated. "Anyway, you certainly don't hide it anymore."

Veronica laughed. "At least not from you."

"Me or the many men I desperately want to punch out for the way they gawk at you when we are out."

"Really?" Veronica asked. She never really noticed men paying attention to her, or Logan's reaction. She was wondering if he was serious.

"Really. So what are you doing now?"

"Sitting on the couch with Taser. He is asleep with his head on my lap. It's cute. We went to the park and played fetch tonight."

"He must be tired out. I have a king sized bed here. I don't know how I'll sleep without the two of you hogging the bed." Logan said with a smile.

"Enjoy the space while you can. I think Taser is getting accustomed to having your side of the bed to himself. You might have to sleep on the couch when you get home."

"Not a chance," Logan said. "I plan on kicking the dog out of the room and having my way with you the moment I get home; five nights away is too long." Logan and Veronica talked for another fifteen minutes before they decided they each needed to go to bed. Logan had an early interview and Veronica was going into work in the morning. "'Night. I miss and love you," said Logan.

"You too," Veronica replied before hanging up.

He He


	25. Chapter 25

Tuesday at work, Veronica began a new project with the Innocence Lost task force. Working in coordination with a number of other groups they were targeting what seemed to be a rather large operation. She had been preparing to leave work to meet Logan at the airport when her phone rang. "Hey, shouldn't you be on the plane?" she asked.

"That's actually why I'm calling," Logan answered. "My flight was cancelled."

"That sucks," Veronica replied. After the tension they had before he left, she was looking forward to Logan getting back home. "Are you going to be able to catch another flight?"

"Yeah, but I am not sure when. It probably won't be until late, possibly even tomorrow morning."

"I guess I'll just see you whenever you get home then."

"Yeah. I'll call you when I know more, if it isn't too late," Logan added. "I love you."

"Love you too," Veronica replied.

Logan quietly let himself into the apartment. It was after two in the morning when he had finally made it home. He knew Veronica would be sound asleep. She would need to be awake in less than four hours for work. He gently set his suitcase inside the door to the bedroom and slipped his shoes from his feet.

He laughed as he noticed Taser asleep, not just on his side of the bed, but with his head on Logan's pillow. "Some guard dog you are. I could have been anybody," he said to Taser as he urged the dog to the floor. He removed his pants and sweater and crawled into bed.

Veronica woke partially to arms being wrapped around her from behind. "Mm, Logan," she murmured, "you're home." Logan kissed her cheek as he pulled her back to him a bit. "What time is it?"

"Almost 2:30," he replied. "Go back to sleep; I just missed you."

"Me too." Veronica said dozing back off. She took hold of his hand and pulled it toward her chest, so he was holding on to her more tightly. She would probably never tell Logan, but moving in with him had made it much harder for her to fall asleep alone.

* * *

"So we each got something in the mail while you were gone," Veronica said to Logan Wednesday night when she got home from work, and she and Logan finally had some time together. "I wonder if anyone noticed the similar address." She handed him an envelope.

Logan turned the envelope over in his hand. The return address read _Neptune High School_. "Is this what I think it is?"

"That would depend on what you think it is," Veronica replied sitting next to him on the couch. "If it is something that involves an extreme level of torture and endurance of pain and misery yes."

"Actually, I was thinking it was something that would allow us to show off our happiness and successful lives to the envy of everyone else," Logan said tearing the envelope open. "Ten year reunion," he said reading the invitation.

"Yep," Veronica replied. "You want to go don't you?"

"Of course I do. You don't?" Logan asked.

"Not particularly, no." Veronica stood up and walked toward the laundry room.

"Why not?" Logan asked genuinely surprised. He turned on the couch so he could face her.

"Do you even remotely remember what high school was like for me? You should since you played a fairly significant role in it." Veronica tone had turned from incredulous to something Logan couldn't quite identify. It wasn't anger but it was definitely in the family.

By the time he had opened his mouth to respond, she was already in the laundry room. He got up and followed her. She was in the process of feeding Taser and making sure he had enough water. "Veronica," Logan began. He didn't really know what to say, but he knew he needed to say something.

She was clearly intent on ignoring it though. "It's fine Logan," she said simply.

After she had filled Taser's dish and given the dog a scratch behind the ears as he began to eat, she turned to walk past Logan and out of the laundry room. "Veronica," he repeated. When she didn't look at him he stopped her with his hand on her arm. "We need to talk about this. I think we have ignored it long enough."

Veronica continued past him and back to the living room. However when she sat down on the couch again she turned to him and asked, "What do you want to say about it?"

Logan sat down next to her. "I'm sorry." It almost sounded like a question, and he knew it sounded weak.

"You've basically said that before Logan. It doesn't change what happened."

"I can't change what happened. I was stupid, and I'm sorry." He ran a hand through his hair. He wished more than anything he could remove all the pain he had caused her, but he couldn't.

Veronica could tell he was upset. She knew Logan was sorry about what had happened between them in high school, and she knew she wasn't making things any easier for him. Still, she was haunted by it as well. "I know you're sorry Logan. I wish I could just totally forget about it. I just can't seem to completely." She sighed. "Most of the time I don't even think about it, but then something like this brings it up," she gestured to the invitation while she was saying it.

"Is there anything I can do to make it better?" Logan took her hand, trying to make a connection.

Veronica ran her thumb over Logan's hand, now holding hers. "I guess if I understood it better." She did have a pretty solid grasp of what happened after Lilly died; it was the second time around that she found harder to deal with.

Logan was already explaining before she could specify though. "After Lilly died I misdirected my anger at myself and Lilly to you. I blamed you for me not being there to protect her." Veronica nodded. Logan could tell that wasn't what she was looking for. "That isn't a surprise to you, and it isn't what you wanted explained was it?"

"No. I know you were grieving. I guess it always has bothered me more what happened between us during senior year." What bothered her was how he had gone from loving her to hating her so quickly. She didn't know how to say that though.

"Are you kidding?" Logan asked. "That one is textbook." He took her other hand in his. "I was in love with you. Always." Veronica looked at him puzzled. "After you dumped me, I was completely heartbroken. All I wanted was to be with you, but instead I had to watch you with Duncan. It helped to be a jerk to you. At least then, I could hurt you a fraction of how much I was hurting." He finished his explanation, and Veronica wondered why that had never been clear to her. "I was such an ass," Logan added quietly.

"I'm sorry I hurt you," Veronica said. "And believe me, it hurt me a lot more than just a fraction of that. I loved you too."

Logan smiled at her slightly and leaned forward to kiss her. When they broke apart her pulled her against him and leaned back on the couch. "Can we please go to the reunion?" he asked.

"Why do you want to go so badly?" she asked.

"To show you off?" Logan asked. When Veronica looked at him and rolled her eyes, he said more seriously. "I'd like to show people I didn't end up destroying my life, and less selfishly, I'd like to see where everyone is now."

"Fine, we can go," Veronica conceded.

* * *

For Veronica, the best thing to come out of her and Logan's conversation before he had gone out of town was her ability to confide in him about things that were tough at work. This was clear one night a few weeks later when she came home from work.

Her task force had busted a fairly large child prostitution ring that day. Veronica had thought she could handle most anything thrown at her, but by the time she made it home from work, she had gone to the bathroom immediately and thrown up. "Are you okay?" Logan asked from the doorway. He came in and sat on the side of the bathtub, holding back her hair for her. "Are you sick?" he asked.

Veronica rocked back and sat leaning against the wall. "It's not like that," she explained. She placed her head in her hands. "I've been holding it in all day. I have never had a case make me so physically ill before."

Logan ran and hand over her head and sat down on the floor next to her. "Want to talk about it?" he asked.

Veronica thought for a moment. She reached over to pet Taser, who had joined them in the bathroom as well. "There was this prostitution ring in the area suspected of using children," she began. "We finally had enough information to bust it. It actually turned out that beyond just being a ring there was actually like a brothel." She was on a role and realized she wouldn't be able to stop until she had explained the whole thing. Logan was listening sympathetically. "Anyway, when we raided the building we found about twenty prostitutes, of those, nine were under eighteen."

Logan felt physically sick, as well, and couldn't bring himself to speak. Veronica continued anyway. "The others were all under twenty. One of the girls couldn't have even been twelve." Veronica finally ran out of steam in her explanation of the case. "When I was twelve my biggest concerns were which soccer team we were playing and if I could go to Lilly's house to sleep over," she added.

"I remember," Logan said as she collapsed against him; he was running his hand over her head still.

"How does that happen to children?" Veronica asked. "I just hate this part of the job."

"You helped though," Logan said comfortingly. "Those kids are going to have a better life now thanks to you."

"It'll never be the same as it would have been though," Veronica replied sadly.

Logan wrapped an arm around her. "You can't prevent all the bad things in the world. And, you do a lot of good." Veronica nodded slowly. "I love that you want to help so much," Logan added. He kissed her forehead. "Do you want dinner?"

"Not right now," she replied.

"I have an idea," Logan helped her to her feet and led her to the bedroom. He urged her down on the bed and lay down next to her rubbing his hand over her back. "Close your eyes and relax," he commanded. He kept running his hand over her back until she finally relaxed.

* * *

The end of June and the weekend of their high school reunion came faster than either Veronica or Logan had planned. Being as Mac and Kevin were also heading to Neptune for the event, they were short their usual dog sitters. Mike and Juliana had agreed to watch Tazer so they could still fly down and not have to worry.

Veronica had been on edge since she had gotten home from work Thursday. Logan hadn't really known what to think and had spent the trip to the airport and the flight down feeling like she was working really hard to pick a fight with him. First she was annoyed at the fact that he hadn't flagged down a cab quickly enough. There had been something about their seats on the plane, and another issue about his typing during the flight. Once they had the rental car, she was frustrated with the route he took away from the San Diego Airport.

By the time they reached Neptune, another issue had erupted. "I just want to know how she got your number?" Veronica asked as they got out of the car at Keith's.

"I told you I don't know," Logan replied pulling their suitcases from the trunk of the rental car. "Why does it matter?"

"It just does. So you're saying you haven't talked at all before this? Because you seemed pretty friendly and familiar on the phone."

They were standing on the front porch. Logan dropped his hands to his side in frustration. "No we haven't, not since college. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"I just don't understand," Veronica snapped. "Why'd she call?"

"I told you. To see if I was coming to the reunion," Logan replied. "This is ridiculous. Veronica we've had this fight too many times. I don't want to explain this stuff anymore. Either you can trust me or you can't."

"Maybe I just can't then," Veronica said angrily. "At least not when it comes to Madison."

"Fine," Logan shouted. He grabbed his suitcase back off the porch and walked back toward the car.

"Where are you going?" Veronica asked.

"I'm not staying here if you feel that way about me." Logan threw his bag on the backseat and got into the driver's side of the car. Veronica had barely registered what happened when the car drove away.

"I thought I heard you out here." Keith was standing in the open doorway. "Where's Logan?"

"Gone," Veronica replied. She grabbed her suitcase and moved into the house.

Her father followed her. "What do you mean?" he asked. He took her suitcase from her.

"I'm pretty sure we just broke up," Veronica said.

Keith stared at his daughter in disbelief as she began to walk up the stairs toward the guest room. Following her, he asked, "What do you mean?"

"We had a fight."

"That's nothing new. You've been doing that for ten years." His attempt to lighten the mood was clearly failing. "I'm sorry honey. What makes you think you broke up, and it wasn't just a fight?"

"It just felt different." Veronica couldn't explain better. She sat down on the guest room bed. "Dad, can I just be alone for a bit?"

"Of course sweetie." Keith kissed her forehead and left the room.

Veronica fell back on the bed and ran her hands over her face.

* * *

Logan was so frustrated he couldn't even think what to do. He had spent twenty minutes driving aimlessly around Neptune before ending up in the dark parking lot at Dog Beach. He didn't know for sure what had happened between him and Veronica. Almost the entire flight from San Francisco, had been spent in some kind of fight. He had felt constantly attacked and like Veronica had been trying to pick a fight with him.

Just outside of Neptune that evening, his phone had rang. It had been Madison Sinclair. Everything he had told Veronica was true; he had no idea how Madison had gotten his phone number, and she had simply asked if he would be at the reunion. He hadn't said much and had gotten off the phone as quickly as he could without being rude.

He now wondered if he should have lied when Veronica asked who had called, but he knew that wouldn't have helped anything. She probably would have just looked into his phone records later, or it would have come up at the reunion. "Leave it to Madison to be the one to ruin this," he muttered to himself.

He knew deep down nobody could ruin his relationship with Veronica besides them. He probably should have stayed and talked things out more, but her not trusting him was a deal breaker. He had sworn he wouldn't go there again. He wouldn't stay in a relationship when he felt like he couldn't do anything right, even with Veronica. She had gotten a lot better about trust since the last time they had dated, but he was still not sure it was enough. Now with a direction in mind, Logan turned the car and began to drive again.

* * *

Veronica was back lying on the bed an hour later. She had taken a shower and cried until she couldn't anymore. Linda had knocked on the door shortly before Veronica's shower to ask if she wanted something to eat. Veronica had declined. Now there was a knock again "Mmhmm," Veronica replied sitting up slightly.

"Veronica dear, I brought you some food just in case you want something," Linda carried in a tray.

"Thanks Linda," Veronica sat the rest of the way up and accepted the tray of food.

"You're dad went to bed since he has to get up early for work tomorrow, but I was wondering if you wanted to talk," Linda said sweetly.

Veronica rested her chin in her hand and stared down at the mattress. Finally she began to speak. "I think I was trying to get into a fight with Logan. I know I was. I had been doing it all day. The whole trip was spent fighting."

"Why were you doing that?" Linda asked. "Do you want to break up with Logan?"

"No," Veronica said certainly. After a pause she added, "I think I'm just scared."

"Of what?" Linda asked. She was sitting on the edge of the bed next to Veronica.

"If I tell you something can you promise not to tell anyone, including my dad?" Veronica asked.

Linda nodded. "Yes. What is it?"

Veronica took a deep breath; the words seemed to be sticking in her throat. Finally, she just blurted them out. "I think I might be pregnant."


	26. Chapter 26

_Veronica took a deep breath; the words seemed to be sticking in her throat. Finally, she just blurted them out. "I think I might be pregnant." _

Veronica pressed the heels of her palms against her eyes and sighed. Linda ran a hand over her shoulder. "Oh honey," she said understandingly. "I know that must be scary for you, but it's not the _worst _thing that could happen."

"I guess," Veronica said quietly.

"Veronica?" Linda asked. "Why do you think that made you pick a fight with Logan?"

"I don't want to tell him," Veronica replied. "I don't know how he'll react."

"So you fought with him to get him to leave to avoid telling him?" Linda was resting her hand on Veronica's arm soothingly.

"It sounds pretty stupid, but I was just…"

"…scared?" Linda asked.

"I guess so," Veronica said.

"You're right he might react badly, but then again he may surprise you. Don't you think you at least owe him the chance to have a reaction of some kind? He does love you, a lot." Linda explained.

"We've never really talked about the idea of kids, I just don't want to throw something at him that he doesn't want or isn't ready for." Veronica began to share her concerns with Linda and found, once she was on a roll, it was hard to stop.

When Veronica had finally finished unloading her concerns, Linda said, "It seems to me that you are worried because you feel like this is something _you _are doing _to_ him. I think you may find that he will see it as something you are in together. As they say, it takes two to tango."

"I need to talk to him," Veronica finally said.

Linda nodded. "You do."

Veronica looked at the clock on the nightstand. It was just after eleven. "Can I use your car? Logan took the rental."

"Of course. Do you know where he is?" Linda asked.

"I have a couple ideas," Veronica said standing up.

"My keys are on the hook by the door. Good luck." Linda hugged Veronica as she left the room.

* * *

Dick answered his door knowing all to well what to expect. "Hey Ronnie," he greeted. "Come to stomp on the remaining pieces of Logan's heart?" Dick felt no need to hide his animosity toward Veronica at that moment. He actually usually liked her quite a bit, despite what she might think, but he'd seen Logan in this place too many times. In the past, it had ended with Logan not getting out of bed or showering for days on end; Dick didn't want to see that repeated.

Veronica had been relieved to find the rental car in Dick's driveway. It was her best guess at where Logan would have gone, and she was glad not to have to try anywhere else. She worried that had he been too hard to find she would have chickened out of the confrontation. She wasn't too shocked at Dick's greeting, so she just said, "Can I talk to him Dick?" When he just remained staring at her, she added, "Please? It is important."

Dick simply stepped aside to let Veronica walk passed him into the entryway. "He's outside by the pool." He motioned in the direction she should go. "I'm going upstairs to bed. I have to be at work in the morning."

"Thanks Dick," Veronica replied. She walked out through the kitchen into the backyard. Logan was sitting with his back to her on the edge of the pool with his legs hanging into the water. He was staring into the pool and holding a bottle of beer. "Hey," she replied.

Logan froze at the sound of Veronica's voice. Partially, he had initially suspected it would be her at the door, but he had convinced himself he was wrong. "How'd you know I'd be here?" he asked.

"Seemed logical. Can I sit down?" Veronica asked. Logan still hadn't looked at her, and she was getting more nervous.

"Do what you like," Logan said coldly.

Veronica removed her shoes and rolled up her pant legs before sitting down and putting her legs in the water like Logan. It took her awhile to speak. "I'm sorry I said I didn't trust you. It wasn't true," she said finally.

"Why'd you say it then?" Logan asked. He turned to look at her for the first time and saw what he thought might be tears gleaming in her eyes. Veronica looked away from Logan and down into the water. "Veronica?"

"I was scared," she finally said.

To someone else that comment might not have meant much, but Logan knew how difficult admitting she was afraid was for Veronica. "Of what?" he asked.

Veronica took a deep breath. "I have to tell you something." When she didn't continue Logan felt terror run through his body.

"Veronica, what is it?" he asked. When she still didn't respond Logan reached out hesitantly to her face. "Veronica, look at me."

"You know how I have been really tired lately? More so than usual." Logan nodded. "Well when I went to lunch with Leslie and Juliana the other day, Juliana was saying how fatigue was one of her first symptoms of being pregnant."

"Yeah," Logan said. He was having trouble seeing where Veronica was going with this. He was waiting for some part of her story to give him insight into their fight.

It suddenly dawned on him at the same time Veronica said, "My period is over a week late." Veronica had returned her sight to the water in the pool, and she was fidgeting with her fingers.

"You think you're pregnant?" Logan asked. His voice sounded quite impassive, which worried Veronica.

She nodded wordlessly at first. "I'm worried I could be." Veronica stood up and moved to a lawn chair nearby. Logan too moved and sat next to her. When she felt his fingers intertwine with hers, she squeezed gently and cautiously looked at him.

"Veronica, can I ask you something?" Logan questioned. She nodded. "How'd this lead to our fighting today?"

"I was afraid," she admitted.

"Of telling me," Logan stated. "But why?" He scooted his chair, so he was in front of her.

"I didn't know how you would react to it. I'm not sure why I picked fights with you all day really; I just know I was scared."

Veronica was biting her bottom lip, and Logan felt a smile grow across his face slowly. He reached up and gently tucked a loose blonde strand behind her ear, letting his thumb caress her cheek in the process. Then he leaned in gradually and kissed her gently on the lips. "I love you," he whispered. "And whatever happens we are in it together." For the first time that night, Veronica felt a smile cross her face. "Come on," Logan said. "We need to talk more, but let's go back to your dad's place to do it."

* * *

Logan drove the rental car back to Keith and Linda's while Veronica took Linda's car. When she pulled into the driveway, Logan was standing leaning against the rental car waiting for her, his bag hanging from his shoulder. He wrapped his other arm around her as they walked into the house. They slipped upstairs quietly, and Veronica changed for bed while Logan went to brush his teeth. When she had returned from the bathroom after he was done, Logan was sitting on the edge of the bed.

"So we need to talk about this?" he said. Veronica nodded and sat down on the bed facing him. She pulled her legs up under her. "Veronica, I know you were afraid, but why didn't you just tell me?" Logan asked.

Veronica realized as she listened to him that she had been prepared for him to be mad at her. What she was hearing was something completely different. Logan sounded sad or hurt. "I don't have a good answer for that Logan; I'm sorry," Veronica replied. Logan just looked at her, and she felt terrible. She knew she needed to explain more even if she didn't fully understand herself.

"I've been so busy lately I didn't even realize my period was so late. I mean I noticed that I was on the sugar pills of my birth control, but I just kept thinking it would come anytime. Then, I thought it was maybe because I was so stressed that it was late. I don't know. It wasn't really until last night that I even let myself entertain the idea that there might be more to it." Logan was listening intently to Veronica as she spoke. "I guess because I had such a hard time dealing with it I figured…"

"…I would too," Logan finished for her. She nodded. Logan thought for a moment before saying, "I wish you had just told me, so we could have just dealt with it together."

"We can now," Veronica replied. Logan leaned back against the headboard of the bed. He pulled Veronica with him, so her back was nestled in the crook of his shoulder, and his arm was around her. "Logan, I'm still scared," she admitted. "I don't think I can do this."

Logan laughed slightly. "I'm sorry," he said. He knew Veronica was truly worried, but it was so rare that she admitted not being able to handle everything. "I know you're scared. I am too, but we don't actually know anything yet." Veronica nodded. "Let's start there. In the morning, I'll run to the drug store. Unless you want me to find a 24 hour one now?"

"The morning is fine. I'd rather you stay here now." Veronica turned slightly, so she could see Logan's face. "What are we going to do if I am pregnant?" Veronica asked quietly.

"We'll have a baby," Logan said matching her volume. "Unless you don't want to." Logan hadn't even considered another option since Veronica first mentioned her late period. Suddenly he realized this really was something they had never talked about.

"You want to?" she asked.

"In a way I always kind of figured we'd have a kid, or kids," Logan explained. "I don't know why; I just did." Veronica nodded and snuggled closer to him. "Doesn't mean I thought it would happen this year, or that I'm not terrified at the idea." He ran his hand through Veronica's hair. "Have you thought about it?" he asked.

"Some. I thought about it after Juliana told everyone she was pregnant, but then I think about having kids every time I work on a case involving kids. That scares me a lot. How would we keep one safe, you know?" Logan nodded and ran his hand from her hair to her upper arm, rubbing soothingly. "What scares you about it?"

"Me," Logan said honestly. "I had a shitty childhood. There is no denying that. I worry about being a bad father. I mean look at my role model there."

"Oh Logan," Veronica said sitting up. She placed her hand on his cheek. "The only thing that makes me not so afraid of the idea is you."

Logan looked at her questioningly. "Me?" he asked.

"When I said I am scared of how to keep a kid safe, the thing that makes that okay is when I think of you as that kid's father." She looked down between them where his hand was resting on her knee. She took it in hers. "I think you'd be an amazing father. You're protective, and you're sweet and loving."

As Veronica began to say all these things, she suddenly wondered why she had been worried to tell Logan at all about her concerns. "I think you'll be a way better parent than I would be," she finally admitted, and she wondered if that had been her fear all along. She knew Logan loved her, but she had no idea if he would have wanted her as the mother of his child, especially with all her issues.

Logan noticed that Veronica had let go of his hand during her last statement. "Are you kidding?" he asked. "Why would you think you wouldn't be a good mother? You are the only person I would ever consider having a child with." He leaned in a kissed her gently on the lips. As they separated he muttered, "Holy shit."

"Hmm?" Veronica asked.

"This might actually really be happening." Veronica just sighed and nodded. "If you are pregnant, your father is going to murder me."

"I doubt that. He wouldn't orphan his own grandchild." Veronica said. "Besides Linda would help me protect you."

"He would if we aren't married. He basically told me as much."

"When?" Veronica asked curiously. The fact that Logan and her father would have talked about them having children was bizarre.

"At Thanksgiving," Logan replied.

"Oh," Veronica replied. "I guess you really have been thinking about this." She leaned back next to him again.

"It was more just something that slipped out. I guess my subconscious had been." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and ran his hand over her arm. "We should get some sleep."

Veronica nodded and slid down under the covers. Logan followed her motion and then wrapped his arms around her. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, too," he replied.

* * *

"Oh my god Logan, did you buy out the store?" Veronica asked as she opened the brown paper bag he tossed on the bed. There were five different kinds of pregnancy tests in it.

"I will never complain about you asking me to buy you tampons again as long as the next time we need one of those, you go get it." Logan said sitting down on the bed. He had run out to the drug store as soon as he and Veronica had woken up while she showered. "I started to ask this employee for help, but she gave me a dirty look while telling me what aisle the pregnancy tests were on, so I didn't want to ask anymore about it. There were _way _too many kinds," he explained. "I figured better safe than sorry."

Veronica had emptied the bag on the bed and was looking through the boxes. "I guess I could use a few. You know, better assurances or something." Logan nodded and started to follow her to the bathroom. He had never been more grateful that Keith was at work than at this moment. "You don't think you're coming in do you?" Veronica asked.

"Well," Logan began. "I did say we are in this together."

"Yeah, but not for the peeing on the stick part. Just wait out here. You can come in when I'm done with that part." Logan stood nervously in the hallway waiting for Veronica to finish. Finally, she opened the door and said, "Done."

Logan walked into the bathroom. "How long do we need to wait?" he asked.

"Five minutes. Well, 4 and a half now," Veronica said sitting down on the edge of the bathtub. Logan sat on the floor and leaned back against the edge of the bath.

As they waited, he ran a hand over the back of her leg on her calf. "Should we like talk about baby names?" he asked. "That is what people always seem to do in movies at times like this."

"Those are usually people who are trying to have a child," Veronica replied. "Kind of a different situation."

"I guess you're right. Maybe we should talk about what we want the test to say," Logan said slightly harshly. "We haven't really covered that."

"Logan," Veronica said sliding down to sit next to him. She placed a hand on his arm. "I think after last night, we can agree that we want to have a baby someday. Do you really think today is that day? Or even nine months from now?"

"No. You're right," Logan said relaxing a bit and looking at his watch. "Three more minutes. If it is positive?"

"Then I guess now will be the time. Let's talk about tonight," Veronica said. "Keep my mind on something else I'm getting more nervous."

"Did you decide which dress to wear?" Logan asked.

"I think I'll wear the black one tonight and the blue one tomorrow."

"Well you look hot in both of them, which of course is my preference so I can show you off." Veronica laughed. "Are we still meeting Mac and Kevin and going over together?" Logan asked.

"Just Mac. Kevin can't go tonight," she said. At Logan's puzzled look she said, "Alumni only for tonight. Tomorrow is dates too."

"Oh yeah," Logan said. "So we're meeting Mac though?"

"She is coming here. Then we'll drive over." Veronica grabbed Logan's wrist and looked at his watch.

"I don't see why they are doing tonight's thing at the Grand," Logan said. "I am not really looking forward to being there again."

"Really?" Veronica asked. "I would think it would be like coming home for you."

"It is; that's the problem."

"You're the one who wanted to come to the reunion in the first place, I will point out," Veronica replied.

Logan looked at his watch again. "30 seconds," he said.

"You check that one; I'll look at this one," Veronica said. She waited the thirty seconds and then looked. Logan did the same. "Negative," she said.

"Negative," Logan added looking at the test he had been assigned.

Veronica turned to the third test sitting in the middle. "Negative," she said again. "All three."

"Well there you go. I'd say that is pretty sure," Logan said.

Veronica nodded. "It's a relief." Logan looked at her kind of sadly. "I know," she said. "It's kind of a disappointment in a way too."

"I guess I just kind of liked the idea. I kept picturing…" Logan trailed off. "But, no. You're right. Now isn't the time."

"I can drink at the reunion. That's a huge relief," Veronica said with a smile. "I'll need it to survive all of those people."

Logan laughed. "So I was thinking, if we are going to have a baby someday, maybe we should be practicing more." He moved behind Veronica and wrapped one arm around her waist. He moved the hair from her neck with his other hand and began to kiss her neck.

"More than we do now?" Veronica asked. She angled her head to allow Logan better access to her neck. "Mmm. What about your rule about my dad's house?"

"He and Linda are both at work," Logan muttered vaguely his focus remaining on Veronica. She turned around in his arms, and he moved his kisses to her lips


	27. Chapter 27

"I think I found a flaw in your plan," Veronica said lying in bed in the guest room of her father's house. It was now early afternoon and she and Logan were both coated in sweat from a rather passionate bout of sex.

"What's that?" Logan asked lazily. "And to which plan?"

"If you keep doing things like that to me, I'm going to change my mind about wanting a child. I hear they limit your sex life quite a bit." Veronica rolled onto her stomach and propped herself up to face Logan.

"I have faith in us to find a good balance," Logan replied. He ran his hand through her hair and kissed her gently. "Plus we have time to figure it out."

They lay in bed for another twenty minutes of so before Veronica said, "We should get up. I need another shower now."

"What a coincidence," Logan replied, "I need a shower, too."

Veronica laughed. "I guess you've given up on that rule of yours completely." She got up out of bed. Not bothering with any clothes, she moved toward the bathroom.

"Just rewrote it is all," Logan said following her. "Less about the location and more about your father's presence in the building now."

"So when my dad comes to stay with us…?" Veronica asked.

"Hmm," Logan seemed to ponder this for a moment. "We'll have to see. It isn't etched in stone or anything after all." Veronica just laughed.

* * *

"Veronica, Mac's here," Logan called from where he was sitting at the kitchen counter. He had been waiting on Veronica for a while and most of the time had been spent with Linda trying to feed him.

"Logan invite her in. She might be hungry," Linda said as Logan got up from his seat to go to the door.

"I will," he replied. "But I keep telling you they have appetizers at the event." He opened the door. "Hey Mac," he greeted. "You look nice." Mac was wearing a floral patterned dress, which was reminiscent of the 1950s.

"Thanks," Mac said. "You too." She entered the living room at Logan's motion.

"Linda wants to feed you," Logan said.

"Isn't there food tonight?" Mac asked as Logan led her to the kitchen.

"I tried to explain that," Logan said. "I'm going to go upstairs and see what is keeping Veronica." Logan headed upstairs. He opened the guest room door. "Veronica?"

Veronica was sitting on the bed staring at a necklace in her hand. She didn't acknowledge Logan's presence. "Veronica?" he said again. Veronica shook her head slightly and looked up slowly. She offered Logan a small, sad smile and looked back at the necklace. "Are you okay?" Logan asked sitting down next to her on the bed.

"Just thinking," she said.

"Is that the necklace Lilly gave you?" Logan asked gently taking the necklace from Veronica's hands.

She nodded. "Most every memory I have of high school includes this big empty hole. Every event after Lilly died, no matter how much fun it was, I always just thought about how she wasn't there." Logan reached out and wrapped his arm around Veronica, and she rested her head on his shoulder. "Lilly and I had talked about so many plans for how things would be, what we would do. Then they never happened. And I feel bad; Wallace and Mac were such good friends, but even with them there, I still…" She trailed off.

"Felt like something was missing," Logan finished for her.

"Yeah," Veronica nodded, her head still on his shoulder. "We should get going; Mac is waiting." She sat up.

"Hold on one second," Logan said. "I think," Logan took the necklace and unclasped it. "Lilly would have loved that you still have this necklace." He scooted behind Veronica and put the necklace on her. "And you remembering her shows what an amazing friend and person you are."

"Thanks," Veronica said. She turned and kissed him quickly. "Let's go." They headed downstairs, and Veronica greeted Mac. "Are we ready for this?" she asked.

"I guess so," Mac said. They headed out to the car. "Ten years ago if you had asked me if I would be going to our reunion, I would have said not a chance."

Veronica laughed. "I'm pretty sure Logan is the only one here who planned to attend this event."

When they pulled up in front of the Grand, they all got out of the car and walked inside. "Ready?" Logan asked.

"Yep," Veronica said taking his hand. "Let's do it." They walked into the lobby of the hotel. "Alright guys, to the bar."

Mac, Logan, and Veronica joined the crowd of Neptune high grads in the bar of the hotel. "There's Wallace," Mac said motioning across the room.

"I'm going to go over and say hi to Dick," Logan said. "I'll see you in a bit." Logan kissed Veronica's cheek.

By the time they reach the table where Wallace was sitting with some old friends from the basketball team, Veronica felt like she had barely survived the trip across the room. People kept greeting her who she couldn't even place. "Who are all these people?" she asked Mac as they sat down next to Wallace.

"I've been asking myself that most of the night," Wallace said. "In fact, who are you?"

"Haha," Veronica replied.

"Hey Mac," Wallace greeted. "V, where is your man?"

"Around here somewhere," she replied glancing around.

"So you're still together?" Wallace said.

"Yes Wallace, we are still together." Veronica rolled her eyes. "Give the guy a break."

"Wait, I thought tonight was alumni only," Wallace's friend said.

"It is," Mac answered. When the guy still looked confused, she added, "Her boyfriend was in our class too."

"Never thought you would have been the type to be with someone from high school ten years later," the other former basketball player added.

"'Cause you knew me so well," Veronica said. Realizing she had been rude without meaning to, she added, "Sorry, just a bit on edge tonight."

"No problem, we'll see you later Wallace." The guys got up and left.

"Sorry," Veronica said to Wallace.

"No problem girl. I'd rather talk to you two anyway." Wallace smiled. "How are you Mac?"

"Great, you?" she asked. "I heard you had a new girlfriend we get to meet tomorrow."

"Yep, Alison. You'll love her. She is amazing."

"Good," Mac replied. "Veronica, what is it?" Mac asked noticing Veronica seemed distracted. She followed Veronica's line of sight.

"What is he doing?" Wallace asked. Veronica just shook her head.

"It's fine. I'm just going to go…," Veronica said. She stood up and walked to where Logan had just walked outside of the bar following Madison Sinclair. Veronica stopped before rounding the corner. She took a deep breath; she was supposed to trust Logan, and she knew that. She just couldn't bring herself to trust Madison with him.

"Madison, I need you to leave me alone," Logan said. "I am truly sorry if you aren't happy, but I am." Veronica smiled to herself and turned quickly moving back to the table where Wallace and Mac were sitting.

"Everything okay?" Mac asked.

"Better than," Veronica said with a smile.

"So I don't need to beat anyone up?" A familiar voice asked from behind Veronica.

She turned quickly. "Weevil," she said with a smile. She got up and gave him a hug. "How are you?"

"I'm actually really good, V." Weevil sat down at the table. "Most everyone calls me Eli now. I have a nice legitimate job and everything."

"Good to hear," Veronica said. They continued to talk for a while before Logan finally made his was over to them.

"Hey Wallace," Logan greeted shaking his hand. "How are you?"

"I'm good. You?" Wallace replied.

"Good," Logan said sitting down. "Hi Weevil."

"Echolls," Weevil replied. Glancing between Logan and Veronica he said, "Are you two…?"

"Yes," Veronica said. "And I'm very happy, so no need for any lectures."

"Don't worry Weevil, I'm sure they'll let you join the firing squad they have arranged for if I ever hurt her again," Logan said with a smile. He wrapped his arm around Veronica's shoulder. "Which I have no plan of doing."

* * *

Keith and Linda were sitting on the couch watching a movie when Veronica and Logan got back. "How was it?" Keith asked.

"Better than I expected," Veronica said. "Though I am not really sure why we have multiple events."

"That was only an hour. It was like a preview. Tomorrow is the big event, or so it was explained to me by many members of the planning committee," Logan said.

"Would you two like something to drink?" Linda asked motioning to her own wine glass.

"That would be nice," Logan said.

"Logan do you want to help me?" Linda asked walking into the kitchen. Logan knew the code; he got up and followed Linda.

"What's up?" Veronica asked her father.

"I was taking the trash out tonight," Keith began. He looked down at his feet, unsure how to continue, but he didn't need to. Veronica knew just what he was getting at.

"We should have emptied the bathroom trash," Veronica said. "Logan asked me if he should take it out this morning."

Keith finally seemed able to speak again. "Veronica, that isn't the point. I don't want you to feel like you need to keep things from me."

"Dad, I'm not a teenager anymore. I can handle my own issues."

"You have been able to do that for a long time, but you're right, you aren't a teenager anymore. You don't need to be afraid to tell me things." Veronica took a deep breath and looked at father. "Honey, are you pregnant?"

Veronica shook her head. "No," she said. "I'm not."

Keith sighed. "Okay," he said.

Veronica noticed the relief in her father's voice. "Dad? Why are you so relieved? It isn't like I am too young." She paused for a moment. "Is it because it would be Logan's?"

Logan stopped where he stood in the doorway returning with wine. He started to turn back to the kitchen. "Logan wait, please," Keith said. "I'd like you to hear this answer." Logan moved back into the living room and handed Veronica her glass of wine. "My concern is not about Logan," Keith said. "Any issues we might have had in the past, over the past few months you have proved to me that there is nobody I would rather see with Veronica."

"Thank you sir," Logan said. "That means a lot to me."

"My concern was simply for what was best for you," Keith said turning back to Veronica. "I am sorry if you thought anything different. I love you very much, and I will always be here to support you. No matter what."

"Thanks dad," Veronica said. She gave him a kiss.

"I would like to see you married before you go having children," Keith said somewhat pointedly.

"I told you," Logan muttered to Veronica under his breath.

"Dad," Veronica said.

"I know… it's your life. On that note, I think I will go to bed," Keith said.

"I'll join you," Linda said. "Goodnight kids." As she hugged Veronica, she whispered, "I'm glad everything worked out."

* * *

"So what happened?" Logan asked as they were getting ready for bed.

"My dad took out the trash and saw the pregnancy tests," Veronica answered crawling into bed.

"Oh," Logan said. "I can't believe what he said about me."

"Seems you've grown on him," Veronica said lying down.

Logan crawled in next to her and lay there for a moment before asking, "Veronica, do you think I've changed since high school?"

"Do I think you have you changed?" she repeated turning to face him. Logan nodded. "Yes. I do. Apparently, my dad does too." Logan offered her a small smile. "Why?"

"I was just wondering. Going back to the Grand tonight and being at the reunion. I kept thinking about what I was like then. I just…" He ran his hands over his face.

"Logan, look at me," Veronica said. "I love you, and I do think you have changed, but even though I was bad about saying it and showing it sometimes, I loved you then too."

"Not always, and I understand that," Logan turned his head back to staring at the ceiling.

"Logan, what is this really about?" Veronica asked leaning up on an elbow so she could look at him.

Logan sighed. "You know what you were saying earlier this evening about Lilly and there being a hole in your high school memories?" Veronica nodded. "I should have been there for you. It's my fault you felt so alone."

"Logan," Veronica said. "You need to let that go. We talked about this when we got the invitations for the reunion. It's okay. You were just a kid, and it was a terrible thing that happened. I don't blame you for it."

"You were my friend. I should have treated you like it. Maybe the hole in each of our lives would have been less if we had had each other."

"Maybe," Veronica said. "But maybe without that, we never would have ended up here." She reached out and touched his chest. "I wouldn't trade this for even the best high school memories."

Logan smiled. "Me either."

Veronica rolled over to go to sleep and Logan wrapped his arms around her from behind. "You want to know what I really remember about you from high school?" Veronica asked.

"Hmm?" Logan murmured against her head.

"I remember a guy who told me all he cared about was me, who told his best friend if he had a problem with me he could just evaporate, a guy who risked his life to save me from the Fitzpatricks, who was shot at on a roof to save me. And, those things don't even cover it." She could feel Logan smile against the top of her head. He tightened his grip on her and kissed her head. She smiled.


	28. Chapter 28

"So explain the point of two events to me again," Veronica said to Logan as they drove to the reunion with Mac and Kevin.

"So Kevin could come with us," Logan replied. "Oh and you get to meet Wallace's new girlfriend."

"I could have done that without a reunion," Veronica replied.

"Ok, here we go," Mac said as Logan pulled into the parking lot of Neptune High. "Whoever thought having this at the school was a good idea has completely lost it."

"No kidding," Veronica added as they got out of the car. "I could have gone the rest of my life without returning to this place."

"It's not so bad," Logan said putting his arm around Veronica. "Think of the good memories. Look over there is where I had your car parked when I had my dad's driver pick it up for you from Weevil's uncle's shop. Where I asked you out for our first real date."

"Which I stood you up for because I thought you drugged and raped me at a party. Those _are_ good memories" Veronica replied sarcastically. "And look that is the spot where my tire was slashed. And that one is where I got locked in my own trunk by the schools' secret society." She said pointing to two other spots as they walked toward the entrance.

"What kind of high school is this?" Kevin asked wide-eyed. "Please tell me your stories aren't that insane," he added to Mac.

"Sorry, I wish I could," she replied. "Look Veronica there is the parking place where my car was parked when we first met."

"Now _that's_ a good memory," Veronica said with a smile.

"You guys must have spent a lot of time in the parking lot," Kevin mused.

"Not more than anywhere else. We have stories for everywhere in this building," Logan joined in. "There is the wall I had to paint after Weevil and I got detention for putting a teacher's car on the flagpole."

"You're lives were like a teen movie," Kevin said with a slight laugh.

"More like a horror story," Veronica said. "Tell me again why we are here," she asked Logan.

"To reflect on how much better our lives are now, I guess," he replied. "All my other reasons have evaporated after thinking about all this stuff." Veronica nodded. "Okay, here we go," Logan said.

Together the four of them walked up the steps to the school. "Oh look," Mac said, "nametags, with our yearbook pictures on them."

"Nice," Veronica said.

"It's so you can recognize everyone," the woman sitting behind the table stated. "Hi Logan." She handed Logan his nametag.

Logan looked up at her. "Oh my god, Caitlin," he said. "Sorry, I didn't recognize you."

Veronica tried to hide her laugh at Caitlin's devastated look. "Hi Caitlin," she said. "How have you been?"

"Fine. Who are you?" Caitlin asked.

Veronica allowed herself to laugh that time as she grabbed her nametag. "Didn't expect that to change," she said to Mac, who had also found her nametag.

"Bye Logan," Caitlin said as they turned away from her to walk into the gym.

"Who was that?" Kevin asked.

"Logan's ex-girlfriend. They were hot and heavy junior year," Mac explained.

"Really?" Kevin asked. "Did she look like that then?"

"Pretty much," Veronica said. "Why'd you say you didn't recognize her?" she asked Logan. "She looks almost exactly the same."

"To see her reaction. You have to remember our relationship ended because she was cheating on me."

"Devastating I'm sure as it was such a deep relationship." Veronica took his arm as they walked further into the gym.

"Oh my god," Kevin said. "It's like senior prom all over."

"We wouldn't know," Mac said looking at Logan pointedly.

"Why not?" Kevin asked.

"Logan and his buddies got our prom cancelled," Veronica answered.

"I provided a substitute evening, which was an improvement on prom if I recall. There was alcohol."

"Just like tonight," Veronica said motioning to the bar.

Mac was still fixating on the prom comment. "I would have preferred no substitute to the prom, being as someone sold me off as a date to Butters."

Veronica laughed and grinned at Mac. "Oh you love me anyway." Turning to Logan she said, "Why don't you guys go get us drinks and we will find an open table?"

"Sounds good." Logan and Kevin wandered off to the bar as Mac and Veronica searched for Wallace or an open table.

"This seriously is like a high school dance," Mac said as they looked around. "The last time I was at a dance here…" Mac trailed off.

Veronica put her hand on Mac's arm. "I know," she said comfortingly. "There's a table," she said indicating a table nearby that was still completely empty.

"Great," Mac said. She and Veronica sat down. "Did you notice Kevin's reaction to our stories in the parking lot?"

Yeah," Veronica said. "People who didn't go to Neptune High scare easy."

"Imagine if he knew the big stories. Like Lilly and Logan's Dad, or Cassidy…" Mac trailed off again.

"Have you not told him about Cassidy?" Veronica asked.

"No," Mac said. "I've started to a few times, but I have never told anyone, and I just can't bring myself to tell him."

"I understand," Veronica said. "If Logan didn't already know everything that happened, I don't know that I would be able to tell him half of it."

"You guys are lucky in that way," Mac said.

Veronica looked up at Logan and Kevin where they were standing by the bar waiting for drinks. "I know," she said. "You're lucky too."

"I know," Mac replied. "I should tell him shouldn't I?"

"Probably," Veronica said. "Hey, there's Wallace."

"Hey Mac, V," Wallace said as he walked up. "This is Alison."

"Nice to meet you Alison," Veronica said shaking her hand as she and Wallace sat down. "I'm Veronica."

"I was going to go get us some drinks," Wallace said. "Do you ladies need anything?"

"Kevin and Logan are already at the bar," Mac said. Wallace wandered off to join the other guys at the bar and get drinks for him and Alison. The girls all began to talk. Mac and Veronica taking the chance to get to know Alison.

"I can't believe it," Veronica groaned.

"What?" Mac asked.

"Look who's coming over here." Veronica gestured toward the bar. None other than Madison was sauntering toward them.

"Well, well, if it isn't Veronica Mars," Madison said.

"Hello Madison," Veronica greeted.

"Hi," Mac said with a fake smile. "Madison, this is Alison."

"Hello," Madison said dismissively.

"What do you want Madison?" Veronica asked.

"I just thought I would come catch up with you. I'm here with my husband. He is over there." Madison pointed to an attractive blonde man at a nearby table. "He owns a public relations business in Hollywood."

"That is lovely Madison," Veronica said trying to hide the bite in her voice. She didn't know Alison and didn't want to seem like a complete bitch.

"What are you two doing now?" Madison asked looking between Veronica and Mac. Clearly, she was looking to prove her life had turned out better than Veronica or Mac's.

"Well, I work for a software company in the bay area and I got engaged at Christmas," Mac said with a smile. "We're getting married in September."

"That's nice," Madison said. She didn't sound as if she thought it was nice at all. "How about you Veronica? I don't see a ring."

"No, no ring. I work for the FBI in San Francisco now, and that is pretty time consuming. Besides, my boyfriend and I moved in together a few months ago. We are happy with that."

"Speak of the devil," Veronica said as she saw Logan and Kevin making his way over to them.

"Sorry it took so long," Logan said sitting down next to Veronica and handing her her drink. "I guess most everyone is needing alcohol to survive this."

"No problem," Veronica said before he leaned in to kiss her.

"Logan?" Madison asked.

"Hi Madison," Logan replied casually. He spoke like he had known she was there the whole time and simply hadn't seen her as being worth acknowledging, which was fairly accurate.

"Are you two…?" Madison began to ask.

"Dating? Yes," Veronica replied.

"So when you said you are living with your boyfriend…"

"I was talking about Logan." Veronica smiled at Madison's annoyed look. "You know, some things are just meant to be, and no amount of meddling by people will change that."

"We have a dog too," Logan said trying to illustrate a deeper level of commitment in a light-hearted way. "I meant what I said when I told you yesterday I was happy," he added pointedly and wrapped an arm around Veronica's shoulder.

"Oh, well bye," Madison said walking away.

"See you later, Madison," Veronica said.

"Who was that?" Alison asked.

"A long story," Veronica replied.

"That was classic," Mac said laughing.

Logan kissed Veronica's cheek. He whispered to her, "I keep telling you that you have nothing to worry about."

"I know," she whispered back.

"Oh Wallace, you missed it," Mac said still laughing as Wallace reclaimed his seat. "Logan's timing was perfect. It was the funniest thing."

"Put Madison in her place did you two? I saw her walking away. She didn't look too happy." Wallace asked Logan and Veronica. He handed Alison her drink and they all resumed talking.

Veronica found that the reunion actually wasn't so bad. There were a few people she caught up with who she hadn't really even thought about in years. Most people seemed to be doing pretty well, which was a surprise since they grew up in Neptune.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Veronica asked Logan as he led her down the hallway.

"You'll see," he replied.

Veronica slowed to a stop. "Hey, that was my locker senior year," she said.

"I recall," Logan said. He pressed her against the locker and kissed her. "I thought about doing that a lot." Veronica smiled. "But, you're distracting me from my goal," Logan said leading her down the hall again. He stopped at the doorway of the girls' bathroom that had essentially been Veronica's office during the later years of high school.

"What are we doing here Logan?" Veronica asked with a grin.

"Well, there was something else I thought about doing a lot when we were in high school." He pushed the door open and led Veronica inside.

"What was th…." Logan broke off Veronica's question with a kiss. He spun her around until her back was against the counter. Veronica laughed when Logan finally pulled back. "This really is déjà vu," she said. "Hold on, I want to check something." She knelt down and felt under the counter. "Ahh ha," she said. "Still there." She pulled out an "out of order" sign and grinned at Logan.

"How on earth has nobody found that in ten years?" he asked. "But put it up, it'll help with my plan." He grinned at her mischievously. Veronica stuck the sign on the door, locked it, and moved back over to Logan, who pulled her into a passionate kiss before lifting her up to sit on the counter.

When Veronica and Logan rejoined Mac, Kevin, Wallace, and Alison at their table, Veronica was still trying to fix her hair. "Where did you two go?" Wallace asked.

"We were just reminiscing," Logan said with a smile.

"Sure," Mac said knowingly. "Girls' bathroom?" she asked with a grin.

Veronica laughed and blushed. "Well you know; it's full of memories."

"That is so disturbing," Wallace said.

* * *

"Thanks by the way," Veronica said as she and Logan were walking up to the front door of her father's house.

"For what?" Logan asked.

"That little display for Madison," Veronica said opening the door.

"I have something to tell you about Madison," Logan said hesitantly. "I should have told you last night, but with everything…"

"Yeah?" Veronica asked.

"When I was talking to Dick and some people yesterday at the happy hour thing, Madison came over and started talking to me."

"Mmhmm," Veronica said. They had wandered into the kitchen, which was empty. Her father and Linda must have already gone to sleep.

Veronica sat down and the counter and Logan leaned against it on his elbows facing her. "She basically propositioned me," Logan said. Veronica didn't say anything, but she assumed this had been the conversation she overheard the end of. "I told her it wouldn't happen and to leave me alone," Logan said.

"Her poor husband," Veronica said shaking her head. "He should hire my dad." She wondered if she should tell Logan she had overheard part of the conversation, but couldn't see any benefit to it. She had all the proof she needed to trust Logan, and she didn't want to risk hurting him.

"They're probably both cheating on the other," Logan said somewhat sadly.

"That's when you told her you were happy," Veronica stated. She knew it should have been phrased as a question, but didn't want to mislead Logan even if she wasn't telling him everything.

"Yeah," he said. "I meant it, too. I am so glad not to be in that kind of a relationship, in that world."

"Me too," Veronica said. "And, I'm happy too." She leaned forward so he could kiss her. She laughed, as they broke apart. "Tonight was actually pretty fun."

"I enjoyed our little trip down memory lane," Logan said moving behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist.


	29. Chapter 29

"So I heard about something at the publishing house today that I wanted to talk to you about," Logan said to Veronica one evening while they were at the dog park with Taser.

"Yeah?" Veronica replied as she threw the ball Taser had dropped at her feet.

"There is this organization that offers after school programs for high school students. They are looking for published authors who are interested in helping kids interested in creative writing. I was kind of thinking of giving it a try." Logan was now throwing the ball for Taser, who seemed to like to take turns of who was throwing it. "I'm not sure though," Logan added.

"I think that sounds like an interesting idea. What is the program like?" Veronica asked. Taser had flopped down at her feet; she was fastening his leash back on, so they could head home.

"Well, someone presented it to me. I guess they like to find local authors to help the kids. They are mainly kids who want to be writers, so working with published authors gives them a better idea of what is required," Logan explained as they walked back toward the apartment.

"What made you consider helping out with it?" Veronica asked. She thought the program sounded great, but it surprised her a bit that Logan would be interested.

"It seemed like a chance to make a difference, if I could help some kids, maybe some who need someone to be interested in what they are interested in. I know that would have helped me at that age, knowing that someone thought I could be successful at something like that." Logan looked at Veronica. "Am I making any sense?"

Veronica laughed. "Yeah, it makes perfect sense." She put an arm on his shoulder. "I think it is great you are considering this."

"So you think it is a good idea?" Logan asked.

"I do," Veronica replied with a smile. She walked into the lobby of the apartment building as Logan held the door open for her. "It sounds like it could be fun too."

"I thought so," Logan said. "I've never had anything to do with teenagers though. I mean not since I was one."

Veronica laughed. "What about Heather?" she asked.

"Well, she isn't a teenager anymore, and she wasn't when I met her either."

"True, but you did interact with her while she was. Anyway, I'm sure you could handle it." She let Taser off his leash as they entered the apartment and followed him into the laundry room to feed him. "So, is it like a class or more one on one stuff?" Veronica asked.

"I think like smaller groups and one on one mainly. It didn't sound like a class really." Logan was sitting on the couch when Veronica returned to the living room. "So you think I should do it?" Logan asked as she sat down next to him.

"I think, if you want to, it sounds like a great idea." She smiled at him.

* * *

"So do you think we should go away or just stay here?" Logan asked Saturday morning, while he and Veronica were lying in bed lazily.

"What?" Veronica asked casually. "When?"

"Three weeks from now," Logan said. "Oh please tell me you know what it is. I am really sick of being the girl in this relationship."

Veronica looked at him thoughtfully. "Three weeks…," she repeated. "Oh my god, it's our anniversary."

"And she gets it," Logan said with a laugh. "I was a little worried there. So, what do you think?"

"I don't know," Veronica replied. "Going away might be nice. Can we go somewhere we can take Taser though?" she asked looked at the dog lounging on the floor by the bed.

"Sure. I can't believe we actually made it to a year. I guess we finally figured this out, huh?"

Veronica smiled. "We haven't made it to a year yet; we still have three weeks."

"I'm confident in our chances," Logan said wrapping his arms around Veronica and pulling her towards him, her back against his chest. "After all, we've made it much longer than we ever have in the past." He kissed her neck making her laugh.

"That's true," Veronica said with another laugh as he kissed her again. Logan flipped her around in his arms and pinned her back to the bed. He bent down slowly and kissed her, working his way from her lips to her neck. "I'm glad," Veronica muttered.

"Hmm?" Logan asked against her neck.

"I'm glad," she repeated. "That we're still together." She felt his lips form into a smile against her neck.

"Me too," he said before kissing her more.

* * *

Logan shifted nervously on his feet in the lobby of the after-school learning center. "Mr. Lester?" a man in his mid-forties, wearing jeans and a gray t-shirt asked.

"Logan," Logan answered shaking the man's outstretched hand. "My last name is actually Echolls, but Logan is fine."

"I'm Henry," the man said. "I run the enrichment program here."

"It's nice to meet you. I have to say I'm a little nervous. I wasn't really clear on just what to expect or what you want me to be doing?" Logan said as Henry led him into the office area.

"No problem. I'll run through things with you now." Henry led Logan into his office and motioned to a chair. Logan sat down, and Henry continued, "The program is open to students in seventh to twelfth grade who are interested in becoming writers. We have a few journalists who work with us too, for the students interested in pursuing journalism. These are mainly kids who have had some tough breaks. They come from low income homes for the most part, and a lot of them have bigger issues as well."

Logan nodded. "I understand."

"The idea of following ambitions to be writers or do anything artistic can be foreign to these students and their families, so it helps them to talk to someone who has done it. But, obviously the main goal is to get someone with skills in their area of interest to help them develop their own abilities. We, of course, have programs in other areas, as well." Henry leaned back as he finished.

Logan had continued to nod during Henry's explanation. A lot of the information he had already known, but this was a bit more direct of an explanation. "Sounds good," he replied.

"I have to say I was a little surprised when I saw your name on our list," Henry said. "I remember everything that happened with your family ten years ago." Logan felt himself tense at Henry's reference to his family. "What I mean to say is that you don't have all that much in common with the kinds of kids we serve."

"You might be surprised," Logan answered. "Having money doesn't make your life easy. Like you said, you remember what happened with my family." Logan took a deep breath. He figured he needed to prove himself to this guy if he really wanted to be involved in this program. "My father cheated on my mother repeatedly, leading her to kill herself. One of his _indiscretions _happened to be my high school girlfriend, whom he eventually killed to prevent from exposing his secret." Logan sighed. "I think that counts as some "tough breaks" as you called them. I am guessing some of these kids have lost a parent or have one who is absent. I lost both of mine while I was still in high school, so I might not be as different from them as you think."

Henry was looking at Logan thoughtfully. "Want to meet the kids?" he asked.

"Sounds good," Logan replied.

Henry led him back to the main part of the building. "There are about twenty-one kids involved in the program at the moment. We have a total of six writers who come and work with us, most come twice a week. It is up to you how often you come; we just need a schedule so we know what to plan for. The students don't come everyday either. What we have found usually happens is that different kids make connections with certain mentors, that's what we refer to you as, and then they attend on the days they know that person will be here."

"That makes sense," Logan said.

Henry continued, "It is really the personal relationships a lot of these kids need." He opened the door to a room filled with tables and chairs. One wall was lined with windows; there were inspirational posters on the others. "Everyone this is…" Henry trailed off as he was unsure how to introduce Logan.

"Logan," Logan finished for him. He figured it was best to keep things simple.

"He is a new novelist here to work with the program, new to the program that is." Henry turned to leave and then patted Logan's shoulder. "Good luck."

There were probably about twelve kids in the room. Two girls who looked to be about fifteen sat at a table alone. They had looked back at their papers when Henry had left. In the middle of the room, a man who looked to be in his late fifties sat surrounded by five other kids of varying ages. A woman sat on the other side of the room working with just one boy. Another younger woman was sitting on the floor with some kids pointing out something in the newspaper.

The man stood and approached Logan. "I'm Roger," he introduced himself. "Welcome."

"Thanks," Logan said.

"Why don't you join me in what I'm doing with the kids. Sometimes it helps getting started to work together."

"Sure, thanks," Logan said. He followed Roger back to the table. He was explaining to the group the importance of character development and some strategies to use. Logan made a couple comments but mainly just observed.

After about ten minutes, Logan's attention was drawn to a boy, who looked to be about fourteen, sitting alone in the corner of the room writing in a notebook. Something about the boy pulled at Logan. Eventually, he got up and moved to sit next to him. "Hi, I'm Logan," he said.

"Oliver," the boy said.

"Nice to meet you," Logan said. "Am I interrupting your writing?" he asked.

"It's okay," Oliver replied. "I'm kind of stuck."

"I hate that. I got really bad writer's block toward the end of my last book." Logan smiled at the boy. "But if I am bothering you, you can say so. I know when I write sometimes I get really annoyed at anything that interrupts me, even my girlfriend."

Oliver smiled. "If I had a girlfriend, I don't think that would bother me."

"She usually doesn't," Logan said with a smile. "Just sometimes." He was glad to have gotten a smile out of this boy, who seemed so sad. "What are you writing?"

"Just a story. It isn't very good." Oliver let the notebook drop to his lap. "What are your books about?"

"How'd you know I've written more than one?" Logan asked curiously.

"You said you got writer's block with your _last_ book. That implies you wrote more than one."

"Smart," Logan said. "I've written three. The last one just came out. I just barely finished my first major tour."

"That's cool. They must be pretty good then if you got to tour." Oliver said admiringly.

Logan nodded. "They do okay."

"What are they about?" Oliver asked again, not being deterred.

"Mmm, life I guess." Logan answered. "The first one was about a young woman dealing with the death of her family in an accident and really just finding her own way in life. I guess they all kind of have to do with people figuring out who they really are."

Oliver nodded. "That's cool," he said.

"Can I read what you wrote?" Logan asked. Oliver looked hesitantly at the notebook but eventually passed it to Logan. Logan read through the five-page story about a boy being bullied at school. He felt his heart break as he assumed this was based on a real life experience of Oliver's. The worst part was that the bully in the story reminded him of himself in high school.

He finished and handed the notebook back. "You're wrong," Logan said. "It is good." Oliver looked at him hopefully. "I really like the way you used the description of the colors in the hallway to symbolize the emotions of the various characters. And your dialogue is very clever."

"Thanks," Oliver said.

"So since I am new here, and you're probably an expert, how am I doing?" Logan asked.

"I've only been coming here for three weeks," Oliver explained. "But, I think you are doing a good job so far. I like talking to you."

"Me too," Logan said.

"My dad will be here to get me in five minutes," Oliver said. "I need to head outside. He doesn't like to wait." Logan nodded. "What are the titles of your books? You read something of mine. It seems fair I should get to read something of yours."

"They might be too grown up for you. How old are you?"

"Fifteen. Nothing will shock me, believe me," Oliver insisted.

"The first one is called _A Stone's Throw_," Logan said. "My pen name is L.E. Lester."

"Thanks," Oliver said. "When will you be here again?"

"Tomorrow," Logan answered. "Will I see you?"

Oliver seemed to think about it for a moment. "Yeah, I'll be here. See you." He stood up, grabbed a backpack from by the door, and left the room. Logan smiled and stood up to go find some other kids to work with.

* * *

Veronica had gotten home and started dinner when Logan walked through the door. "Were you rearranging the furniture again?" he asked from the living room. Lately, Veronica had taken to moving furniture around the apartment. Logan wasn't sure why.

"Just a bit," she replied from the kitchen. "I thought it might be a nice change to move the couch. How was it?" she asked, changing topics, as he came into the kitchen.

"Good," Logan said and kissed her cheek. He leaned against the counter next to the stove where Veronica was working on a stir-fry. "Actually, really good. I enjoyed it."

"I'm glad," she said as he stole a pea off the cutting board. "Tell me about it. What'd you do? What was the best part?"

"Well, I met with the director of the enrichment program first. He didn't seem to think much of me, at least not at first. I think I might have changed his mind though." Logan stole another vegetable. "Then I got into working with the kids. There was this one boy, Oliver. He seemed like a good kid. Great writer, too. I think I made a connection with him; he seemed like he needed it." He looked back at Veronica who was grinning at him. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said leaning up to kiss him quickly. "Want to open a bottle of wine?" she asked.

"Sure," Logan said. He vanished into the dining room to grab a bottle off the wine rack. When he came back with two full glasses, he began to hold one out to Veronica before moving it just slightly out of her reach. "You can have it when you tell me what you were thinking a moment ago."

Veronica laughed. "Come on Logan," she said reaching for the wine. He kept it firmly in his hand, out of her reach and looked at her seriously. "Fine," she conceded. "I was thinking how impressed I was to hear you talking about that. How passionate you are about writing and wanting to share that is amazing, and the way you talked about that kid." She sighed slightly. "It just made me proud I guess."

Logan smiled at her. "I love when you say that," he admitted.

"What?" she asked as he pulled her into his arms.

"That you're proud of me," he said with a small smile. "It's all I've ever wanted, to make you proud." He leaned his head down resting his forehead against hers. "Well that, and for you to love me."

"You do," Veronica said leaning up to kiss him. "And I do."

Logan kissed her again more deeply. "Dinner ready?" he asked as he pulled back.

"You must be hungry to be thinking about food," Veronica teased. "But, yes." She handed him an empty plate and began to dish food onto her own. They sat down and ate dinner before taking Taser out for a walk.

As they were walking, Veronica asked, "So what was it like to spend time with teenagers? Were your apprehensions warranted?"

"It was fine. Though reading some of their writing made me really glad not to be a teenager anymore," Logan replied thoughtfully.

Veronica laughed. "You couldn't pay me to go back to all of that." They continued to walk back toward the apartment.

"You know," Logan said. "There is one thing I do miss from being a teenager." They were getting into the elevator.

"What's that?" Veronica asked.

"This," Logan replied. He reached out and pulled Veronica to him wrapping his arms tightly around her back as his lips crashed into hers. He spun her against the wall of the elevator, and she dropped Taser's leash as her arms instinctively wrapped around his neck, pulling their bodies closer together and her onto her toes. Logan's lips travelled to her neck, and his hands found the bare skin on the small of her back. Suddenly, his lips her back on hers, and he had turned them again so his back was now on the adjoining wall of the elevator.

When they reached their floor and finally broke apart, Veronica laughed slightly. "Cause we never do that now."

"It's not quite the same," Logan said. They walked down the hall and into the apartment. Logan, who had retrieved Taser's leash from the floor of the elevator, let the dog free. He glanced at Veronica who was sitting on the couch removing her shoes. "Do you remember what it was like?"

"What what was like? Being a teenager?" Veronica asked.

"No, when we first got together?" Logan asked sitting next to her with a grin.

She laughed. "You mean the part where it was impossibly hard to keep our hands off each other?"

Logan pulled her back into his arms. "Exactly," he said kissing her. "I guess not all that much has changed." Veronica smiled at him as he kissed her again.


	30. Chapter 30

"Oh my god," Veronica said as they pulled into the parking lot of the resort. "It is so much prettier than the pictures online." She and Logan had debated long and hard over where to stay for their anniversary. The decision had been Sonoma County. From there, they had to decide where in Sonoma. They had narrowed it down to a couple B and Bs or a more secluded resort. They had agreed on the resort, with its small cabins for privacy.

Logan parked their rental car. "I'll go check us in," he said. "Do you want to let him out?" He gestured toward Taser who had been getting antsy stuck in the backseat for the drive.

Veronica put Taser on his leash and walked him around some of the trails of the resort. It was a wooded area with private access to the river. Taser was thoroughly enjoying being out of the car. Veronica was standing looking at the river as Taser played on the beach when Logan found her. "Got us checked in," Logan said as he walked up behind Veronica and wrapped his arms around her. "Want to go see the cabin?"

"Definitely," she said. "Then dinner time?" she asked. At Logan's laugh she added, "I'm hungry."

"I figured. It's been a whole hour and a half since we left San Francisco." He kissed her head smoothing out her hair.

"I haven't eaten since lunch," she said indignantly and began to lead Taser away from Logan.

"Hey, I was just teasing," he said hurrying to catch up to her. She smiled at him letting him know she too had been joking. She leaned into his side as he put an arm around her shoulders.

They grabbed their bags from the car and found their cottage. "It's cute," Veronica said looking at the sitting room. "You okay with it?"

"There's a bed," Logan replied waggling his eyebrows.

Veronica let out a kind of laugh. "You are so predictable," she replied. "Did you get the dog's stuff? I want to get him settled before we go get food."

"By the door," Logan replied as he checked out the rest of the cottage. "Hey, did you see this bathtub? It's bigger than the one at the Argonaut."

"Got something in mind that requires a large tub?" Veronica asked, setting up Taser's dog-bed, bowls, and tossing the dog a couple toys. She looked up at where Logan was smirking at her from the doorway between the bedroom and the sitting room. "Come on," she said standing up. "Buy me dinner. Then maybe you'll get lucky."

"I can do that," Logan replied following Veronica out the door.

They got dinner at the restaurant at the resort. The place had a charming rustic ambiance and a menu with prices that implied excellent food. "The food choices are so… Northern Californian," Logan said as he looked over the menu.

Veronica laughed. "You'll always be a "SoCal" boy at heart, huh?"

"I think my heart might be swaying a little. See there is this girl up here that is making me think Northern California might not be so bad," he said grinning at her across the table. Veronica smiled softly. After a pause, he asked, "Wine?"

"We are in Sonoma County," she replied simply. They ordered a nice bottle of red wine and enjoyed an amazing meal. After dessert, they walked casually around the resort on their way to the cottage. "This is nice," Veronica observed.

"Very," Logan agreed wrapping an arm around her. "Should we go get the dog and continue the walk?" he asked. Veronica nodded in agreement.

After Taser was properly tired out and asleep on the dog-bed, Logan and Veronica indulged in a bubble bath in the jetted tub, together of course. Later that night, they lay in bed together, legs intertwined. "I'm glad we got away for awhile," Veronica said. She left unmentioned that work had been overwhelming her lately and she needed an escape.

"Me too," Logan replied. He pulled her closer to him. "It's nice to relax together away from the day to day stuff." He knew what Veronica wasn't saying, and he figured she knew what he wasn't saying, that he knew she was stressed out, that he wanted to make it better but didn't know how. So instead, he just kissed her.

* * *

The next morning, Veronica woke up and found Logan missing from the bed and Taser's dog bed empty. She sat up slowly and noticed a note on Logan's pillow. "Took Taser out – L" it read. She smiled slightly and climbed out of bed. The discovery of hot coffee and a Danish on the small table in the sitting room brought a full grin to her face. She settled down with the coffee and stared out the screen door.

"You're up," Logan said when he returned a few minutes later.

"I am," Veronica replied. "Thanks for the coffee."

"It was to ensure my own safety," he replied with a smirk. "I know what you're like without it." He sat down in the chair next to her. After a lazy start to the day, they went out to various wineries in the area to do some wine tasting. The last winery they went to had a restaurant attached, where they ate a lovely dinner.

"This was a great weekend," Veronica said as she and Logan walked around the gardens at the resort. A wedding reception was going on across the way, and she stopped and gazed at it for a minute.

"Looks like fun," Logan said following her line of sight.

"Yeah," she replied casually.

Logan tenderly took her hand in his. He led her to the other side of the garden and sat down on a bench. Veronica sat down next to him. "I have something for you," he said turning to her. He pulled a small velvet jewelry box from his pocket.

Veronica felt her heart rate increase; somehow she knew this wasn't just a gift. "I thought we said no gifts," she said, the words sticking in her throat a bit.

"It's not that kind of gift," he said. He played with the box in his fingers for a moment. "Veronica," he began nervously, but forced himself to look her in the eye. "I fell in love with you when we were seventeen years old, and I haven't stopped loving you since." Logan took a deep breath. "More than anything I want to spend the rest of my life with you." He flipped the box open.

Veronica stared at the ring in the box, shimmering in the moonlight. She blinked at it. Had she designed a perfect ring, it wouldn't even begin to measure up to this. The stone was circular set in a hexagonal frame made of swirling sliver patterns. The style screamed 1920s art deco. Her mouth felt dry and she could barely breath. Finally, she let out a breath then said, "Logan's it's beautiful…" She saw his face fall before she even finished.

"But…" he said for her.

"I'm just… I can't." She reached out and touched his hand. "I love you, I do, so much," she said. She'd worried about this moment for months. Relationships don't usually survive a rejected proposal; she wanted theirs too, more than anything.

"I know." Logan smiled at her slightly. "I knew it was a long shot." He turned towards her again. "Veronica," he began. "I know you swore to yourself when you were younger that you would never get married. And god knows, neither of us had parents who set a good example for this, but can you think about why you really think you don't want to get married?" He wrapped both her hands in his. "I think we could maybe do it right."

Against her will, a small smile played on her face. "Maybe," she said looking down at their joined hands.

"There is a second part of your present I hope you'll accept." Logan lifted the foam piece of the jewelry box holding the ring out and removed a thin silver chain from beneath it. He threaded the chain through the ring. "Would you wear it like this?" he asked. "Because I want you to have the ring. It made me think of you." He held it out to her, now as a necklace. She smiled and took it in her hand. "Maybe, if you change your mind someday you could move it to your finger," he said quietly.

Veronica smiled at him and nodded. He slipped the chain back out of her hands and reached around her to fasten it around her neck. She reached up and touched the ring where it lay against her chest. "Thank you Logan," she leaned in and kissed him. They both knew the thank you wasn't for the ring; it was for so much more. For knowing her enough to know what she needed, and for accepting that when so many people wouldn't.

She leaned into him as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her temple. "You're welcome," he replied. "I love you. Always." They sat in the garden in the moonlight for a few minutes until Logan noticed the music drifting their way from the wedding reception. He stood slowly and held a hand out to Veronica. "Dance with me," he suggested warmly. She smiled and stood, letting him pull her into his arms. Her head rested on his shoulder, and he ran his hand over her back gently until the song ended, and they made their way back to the cottage.

* * *

"Do you think it is any good?" Oliver asked as he and Logan sat at a table in the learning center writing room.

Logan set down Oliver's latest story, which he had just finished reading. "It is really good," he replied. "Where'd your inspiration come from?"

"I don't know," Oliver replied looking down at the desk.

"I don't buy that. Even the best writer couldn't write like that out of nowhere, but I understand if you don't want to share." The story was about a kid who could never seem to please his father no matter how hard he tried. The truth was, Logan could relate to it. "I find it really relatable, anyway," he said honestly. "And that is always the goal of an author, to write something other people can relate to."

Oliver smiled. "Is it true your parents both died when you were in high school?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," Logan replied. "How'd you hear about that?"

"I heard one of the other kids talking. He said your dad was murdered." Oliver was looking at him curiously.

"When I was a junior, it came out that my dad had been cheating on my mom, a lot. They think she jumped off a bridge. About a year later someone shot my dad in the head in his hotel suite." Logan recited everything factually. Honestly, he felt like he was talking about someone else's life.

"Whoa," Oliver said. "That's intense."

Logan nodded. "There is more to it. Maybe I'll tell you another time." He glanced around. Everyone else had left the room. "When are you getting picked up?"

"I don't know. If you need to go, I can just go wait at the diner on the corner. If I order coffee, they don't care how long I stay. My dad will come get me at some point, or I'll walk home." Oliver sounded undisturbed by the situation.

"Where do you live?" Logan asked.

"Bayview," Oliver said quietly.

"You can't walk there," Logan said. "Isn't there a freeway between here and there?"

"There are underpasses," Oliver explained. "I've done it before."

"Why do you come all the way here for stuff after school?" Logan asked. "It seems like it is a long distance."

"I actually go to school nearby. It's better than the schools in my neighborhood. My mom signed me up, before she died," Oliver trailed off.

"Well that's good. You must care a lot about school. It was hard enough for anyone to get me to go to school at all in high school." Logan stood up. "Come on, I'll go to the diner with you. I could use some coffee."

Oliver got up to follow him. "It's okay," he said.

"No, we can keep writing. Caffeine helps with that often," Logan said with a smirk.

Logan and Oliver had been at the diner for nearly an hour when Logan's phone rang. He glanced at the screen. "Sorry. It's my girlfriend," he said to Oliver at the boy's questioning look. He answered the phone. "Hey there," he greeted.

Veronica had been at home for an hour without hearing from Logan before she called him. "Hey," she said. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Logan replied. "Of course."

"Usually you are home by now. I was worried," Veronica said.

Logan smiled. It was a nice change to have Veronica worry instead of suspect when he was home late. "Everything is fine. I'm just here with Oliver. He's still waiting on his dad," Logan explained.

"It's after six. If his dad will be much longer, maybe you should bring him here for dinner, and then his dad can get him." Veronica wasn't surprised to hear Oliver's name. She knew Logan had made a connection with the boy in the weeks he had been working with the program.

"I'll check. Either way I'll see you at home soon." Logan looked up at Oliver, who was still writing in his notebook. Looking back down at the table in front of him he added, "I love you."

"Me too," Veronica said and hung up.

Logan put his phone back in his pocket. "Oliver, if you think your dad will be a bit longer, you have just been invited to dinner by my girlfriend. He can pick you up from our place," he said. "What do you think? We live just a few blocks away."

Oliver looked a little hesitant. "I don't want to be a bother. I can just wait for my dad here."

"Come on," Logan said. "Let's go. Give him a call and tell him that you're having dinner with us." With a small smile at Logan, Oliver took out his phone. He made the call and left a message when his father didn't answer.

As soon as she hung up from Logan, Veronica had begun making pasta, salad, and garlic bread for dinner. She was hoping that by making something fairly basic she would prepare something Oliver would want to eat. About twenty minutes later, she heard the front door open. Moving out of the kitchen, she saw Logan standing in the living room with a rather skinny young man. He had shaggy brown hair and was wearing zip-up hoodie over a black t-shirt with jeans.

"Good timing, guys," she said. "Dinner is almost ready." She moved toward them.

"Hey," Logan said. He walked toward her, meeting her halfway. He gave her a quick kiss. "Oliver, this is my girlfriend, Veronica. Veronica, this is Oliver."

"Nice to meet you Oliver. I hope you're hungry." Veronica smiled at the boy, who politely shook her offered hand.

"Thank you for having me for dinner," Oliver said. "It is really nice of you."

Veronica smiled at how polite he was. "You're welcome. Come in and make yourself at home." Just then Taser, who Logan had been petting, moved over to Oliver to greet him. "I hope you don't mind dogs," Veronica said. She grabbed Taser's collar in case. "I can put him in the bedroom if you do."

"No, it's fine. I like dogs." Oliver patted Taser's head as he moved out of Veronica's grasp. "What's his name?"

"Taser," Veronica replied. At Oliver's smile, she added, " Logan named him. It's kind of a long story."

"Not that long," Logan spoke up. At Veronica's forceful look, he dropped the topic. "Oliver would you like something to drink? We have soda."

"Sure a soda would be good," Oliver said. "Can I use your bathroom?"

"Sure, it is just down the hall," Veronica said. "I'm going to finish up dinner." Logan followed her into the kitchen as Oliver went to the bathroom. She turned to Logan as he got the soda for Oliver from the fridge. "For as much as you have connected with that kid, I expected him to remind me of you," she said.

"He doesn't?" Logan asked.

"Not at all," Veronica replied. "He's polite."

Logan laughed. "Hey, I'm polite, usually."

Veronica smirked at him. "Now you are. You weren't as a teenager." Veronica pulled the garlic bread from the oven. "He seems like a sweet kid."

"Should I be insulted that you're saying all these nice things about him right after saying he isn't like me?" Logan asked.

Veronica laughed. "Hey, would you grab the salad from the fridge?"

"Sure," Logan said opening the refrigerator and getting the salad bowl. "Nice avoidance there by the way."

Oliver returned from the bathroom, and they all sat down to dinner. Oliver told them about his school, and he asked Veronica some questions about being an FBI agent. She answered them but kept it all pretty vague. "So how long have you two been together?" Oliver asked eventually.

"A year last weekend, this time," Logan said.

"This time?" he asked.

"We dated off and on at the end of high school and beginning of college," Veronica explained.

"You went to high school together?" he asked.

"Yep," Veronica said with a smile. "So if you want any stories about Logan, feel free to ask." She leaned closer to Oliver and whispered, "I have good ones."

Oliver smiled and laughed slightly. They finished dinner, and shortly after, Oliver's father called his cell phone. "I'd better wait downstairs. He'll be upset if he has to wait on me," he said grabbing his backpack. "Thank you so much for dinner. It was really good."

"No problem. It was nice to meet you," Veronica replied.

Logan opened the front door. "I'll walk you down," he said.

Oliver followed Logan into the hallway. They stood in the elevator in silence for a moment before Oliver said, "Your girlfriend is nice, and funny." He paused for a moment. "And really pretty."

"Don't go getting any ideas," Logan joked. "She's taken."

Oliver laughed as they walked out of the building. An old silver sedan pulled up; "There's my dad," he said. "You won't be at the center tomorrow right?" Logan shook his head. "Okay, well, I'll see you next week then." Oliver hurried toward the car. "Thanks again for dinner. I really appreciate it." He jumped into the car.

Logan waved to Oliver and made a greeting gesture toward his father, which was ignored. He looked at the car in a puzzled manner as it drove away. With a shrug, he turned and hurried back upstairs.

Veronica was washing dishes when Logan got back upstairs. "Here," he said, taking a plate out of her hand. "Let me do that. You cooked."

"Thanks," she said letting him take over and jumping up to sit on the counter next to him. "Oliver is a really sweet kid."

Logan nodded. "He is a good kid," he said. "I worry about him a bit though."

"He seems like something big is weighing on him. He's almost overly polite, like he is scared or something."

"That's just what concerned me," Logan stated putting the last of the dishes in the dishwasher and turning to Veronica. "I don't know." He shrugged. "I guess I still don't know him that well."

"It's nice you care enough to be worried," Veronica said placing her hands on Logan's shoulders and he moved to stand directly in front of her. She kissed him squarely on the lips. "I take it back by the way. You're sweet too."


	31. Chapter 31

Logan came home one evening from a late meeting at the publishing house. He let out a sigh as he leaned against the side of the elevator. The more time he spent working with the kids at the learning center the more frustrating he found the bureaucracy of the publishing company.

He walked in the front door expecting to hear Veronica rummaging around in the kitchen or rearranging furniture again, but instead, it was completely silent. Dropping his messenger bag by the door and hanging up his coat, he walked into the living room. Veronica was curled up on the couch wrapped in a blanket. Her arms were folded under her head on the arm of the couch, and she was staring ahead of her blankly. Taser was lying on the couch next to her, his head resting on her legs.

Logan looked at her sadly. He knew that look better than he wanted. She'd had a bad day at work. The thing he had learned over the past year about Veronica's job was that the worst day at anyone else's job didn't even attempt to compare to a bad day at what she did. Veronica appeared not to even have noticed that he was now in the apartment, much less the same room, but she did. Since she had gotten out of the shower and curled up on the couch, all she had thought about was her desire to have Logan home.

He continued to watch her as he moved closer. He could now tell her eyes were red from tears and her fist was clenched around the top of the blanket. Slowly he prodded Taser from the sofa and sat down in his place. Veronica shifted immediately, moving her balance from leaning against the sofa arm to leaning against Logan. He wrapped both arms around her as she rested her head on his chest. He could tell she was crying again but said nothing about it.

Veronica felt tension leave her body as soon as Logan's arms circled around her. She loved how the feeling of his arms around her suddenly made her feel safe and secure. Logan slowly lay down on the couch pulling Veronica with him, so she was resting partially on top of him. He could feel her relax instantly. "Thanks," she murmured eventually.

"No problem," he replied. He rubbed his hands over her back. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head. "Not yet," she said. "Can we just stay like this for a bit?"

"Of course," he answered with a nod. They lay like that, in silence, for another five minutes or so. Logan watched Veronica, who had her eyes closed and her face half buried in his chest. One of her hands gripped the fabric of his shirt, while the other slowly, unconsciously moved to the ring hanging from the chain around her neck. Logan smiled to himself as he watched her fidget with the ring.

After another few minutes, Logan kissed Veronica's head and said, "I know what you need." He leaned up and brought her with him. Leading her to the bathroom, he turned on the bathtub and ran a warm bath. "I'll get you a glass of wine while you get in," he said with another kiss to her head.

When Logan returned with a glass of wine for each other them, Veronica was already settled into the now full bathtub. Her body had immediately relaxed. Logan sat down on the floor next to the tub and leaned against the wall. He handed Veronica her glass of wine. "Are you feeling better?" he asked.

"Much," she replied. After a moment of silence, she said, "Logan, can I tell you something?"

"Always," he replied simply.

"I don't want you to use this against me or hold me to it. It might just be because I'm emotional and upset." He nodded understandingly. She continued, "I'm not sure I can keep doing my job." Logan didn't say anything; he just continued to listen. "It is just getting harder all the time to compartmentalize, and I'm just not sure I want to keep trying to."

"I understand," he said finally keeping his response simple. "I'm sure you'll figure out the right thing for you, and I'll be here for you no matter what you decide."

Veronica smiled at him slightly and after another silence said, "Thank you. When did you learn to always say the right thing?"

"When I lost you the last time," Logan replied and leaned toward her and kissed her temple. "I knew I had to get it right the next time around."

* * *

Logan emerged from the shower on Saturday morning to Veronica and Mac talking in the dining room. They sat working through finishing touches on wedding plans. From his place in the hallway, he heard Mac ask, "Are you going to tell him or do you want me to?"

Veronica sighed. "I should," she replied. "Cause it wouldn't be awkward enough without Logan being there." She sighed again. "You're sure he is coming?"

"He RSVPed," Mac replied. "So yeah."

"Great," Veronica stated sarcastically.

"I thought you guys said you would stay friends," Mac stated.

"We did, but being with Logan…" Veronica trailed off. "It just complicates things."

"What'd I do now?" Logan asked walking into the room.

Veronica looked at him with apprehension. "Nothing," she said finally.

"Well, there's a first time for everything," he replied with a shrug. "You ladies want omelets for breakfast?"

"Sure," Mac replied. "I'm starving. I came right over here when I woke up."

"Yeah, thanks." Veronica barely even looked at him.

As Logan disappeared into the kitchen, Mac asked, "Omelets?"

"Yeah, he is on a cooking kick. Something about impressing Linda when she and my dad come up for your wedding."

They continued reviewing things for the wedding while Logan cooked. Once he was done, they all sat down to eat together. "So, I need to tell you something." Veronica turned to Logan.

"That my omelets are the best thing you've ever eaten?" he asked jokingly.

"But seriously folks," Veronica replied not being deterred.

"Okay," Logan said. "Shoot."

"So, Mac's wedding…" she trailed off again.

"Yes, I'm familiar with it. It's is the reason you keep dragging me to dress fittings and florist shops." He smirked at both of them.

Veronica was groaning inside. Logan wasn't making this any easier on her by joking around. She opted to just bite the bullet. "Piz is coming," she blurted out.

Even Mac looked surprised at the way Veronica broke the news, but surprise didn't even begin to cover Logan's expression. "Piz?" he asked. "I didn't even know…" He looked at Mac.

"We both moved to Seattle after graduation. We probably became even better friends than we had been in college because neither of us knew anyone else there," she explained.

Logan nodded. "Makes sense," he said. He turned to Veronica. "Am I supposed to be upset about this?"

"Well, you two don't have the best history," she stated.

"I think I can handle it. It's been six years since I've even seen him," Logan said casually. "Were you two actually worried about telling me?"

"Well yeah," Mac said.

Veronica added, "Guess we didn't need to be." She laughed. "Just as long as you don't beat him up again."

"Hey. I have grown out of that. I haven't beaten anyone up in a very long time."

"And I'm so proud of you for it," Veronica replied with a smirk.

Logan stood up, giving her a quick kiss while he did. "I need to go clean up the kitchen before you see it and decide you don't like me anymore," he said.

* * *

"I think you should have the baby next week. Specifically Saturday," Veronica said to Juliana while they were all out that evening following the baby shower. The girls had spent the evening at Leslie's and then everyone had met up for the remainder of the night.

Everyone laughed. "I don't think you actually want to share your birthday," Logan said. "You wouldn't be the center of attention." He wrapped his arms around her from behind, and she leaned back into him.

"Honestly at this point, if I have to wait another week, I might kill someone," Juliana said. "I am so ready to have this baby out of me."

Mike squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. "Come on Veronica," he said. "Let me buy you a birthday drink, since hopefully we will be occupied next weekend."

"Sounds good," Veronica followed Mike to the bar, and he ordered her a drink. "So how are you feeling?" she asked. She and Mike hadn't been that close until he had become friends with Logan. Now she felt much more a connection to him.

"Excited, nervous, thrilled, terrified," he listed. "You name it; I probably feel it."

Veronica laughed. "I guess that is to be expected," she replied.

Logan came over to join them before they returned to the group. "So we are still on for surfing tomorrow?" Logan asked Mike.

"Definitely, it might be my last time for a while," Mike said with a grin.

Veronica had rejoined the group and was now sitting at a booth in the bar with all the other girls. "So I want to hear about this anniversary trip," Holly said looking at Veronica enthusiastically.

"It was nice," Veronica replied. She glanced toward where Logan was standing with the guys at a tall table watching the game.

"Nice?" Susan asked.

"Yeah nice," Veronica replied again. Her hand had instinctively found its way to the chain around her neck, and she gently moved the ring back and forth.

"Why don't you tell us about that," Leslie said nodding toward the ring.

Veronica nervously bit her lip. Mac was looking at her knowingly. She had heard the story of the ring earlier that day. Veronica glanced at Logan again. "Okay fine," she said. She launched into the story.

"I can't believe you said no," Susan said. Of everyone in the group, she probably knew Veronica the least. It was no surprise to Mac or Leslie that she had said no.

"What I can't believe is that you actually accepted the ring," Mac said. "That's quite a step for you." Veronica nodded as everyone else continued to weigh in on her life choices. She looked toward Logan once more and saw that he was watching her. She watched as his eyes traveled down to where her hand still touched the ring gently, and he smiled at her. Gradually, she smiled back.

When they were walking home that night, alone for the first time since that morning, Logan said, "You know, I was thinking about the thing with Piz being at the wedding…"

"Yeah?" Veronica asked.

"Well, it seems to me that if anyone is going to be upset, it would be him."

"Why's that?" she asked.

"Because I got you," he said wrapping his arm around her.

* * *

Logan had indeed kept his promise to Veronica and the following weekend for her birthday, they went back to the Argonaut hotel. They spent the weekend much as they had the year before, playing tourist, eating out, and spending much of the time in bed.

Sunday morning, they were eating breakfast in bed, when Veronica's phone began to ring. She reached over to the nightstand casually to answer it. "Hello?" she greeted.

Logan was attempting to regain Veronica's attention from the phone call by wrapping his arms around her from behind when she said, "We'll be there in about an hour." She hung up the phone and set it back on the nightstand.

"Where are we going?" Logan asked. "We still have a few hours. I got us a late check out."

"We need to go to the hospital," Veronica explained. "That was Leslie. Juliana had the baby last night. They want us to come see him."

"So you are sharing your birthday after all," Logan said. "That's funny."

Veronica and Logan met their friends in the waiting room of the maternity ward about an hour later, just before visiting hours started. Logan and Jack were standing talking while Leslie filled Veronica in on what Mike had told her about the birth. Mike came out to greet them shortly after they arrived. Leslie and Jack went in first while Veronica and Logan waited.

"I don't like hospitals," Logan said glancing around. "But I have to say, this is a good reason to be here."

Veronica smiled at him. "Nobody is hurt this time."

He nodded and placed his hand on hers. "I can only think of one reason better than this to be here," he said quietly.

Veronica knew just what he was getting at. "Let's not rush anything," she said. "We said…" she trailed off as Leslie and Jack came back into the waiting room.

"You can go in now," Leslie said. "We have to go, and they have other friends coming in a while."

"They have other friends?" Logan asked in mock astonishment. They all laughed.

Leslie and Jack headed out while Veronica and Logan made their way to Juliana's room. Juliana sat in bed holding a bundled up little boy in her arms. Mike was sitting in a chair next to her talking quietly.

"Hey guys," Juliana said. "Glad you could make it."

"Of course," Veronica said. She moved to the bed. "Oh my gosh, he is so cute." She smiled down at the baby in his mother's arms. Logan had moved to stand next to her.

"Here you want to hold him?" Juliana asked Veronica.

"You sure?" she replied. Juliana didn't even respond she just gently passed the infant to Veronica.

"What's his name?" Logan asked looking between Juliana and Mike.

"Andrew," Mike replied. "Andrew Christopher."

"Drew?" Veronica asked looking down at the baby snuggled in her arms. "You're sure a cutie." The baby yawned and his hat began to pull up off his head. Logan quickly noticed and readjusted it further onto his head.

Veronica smiled up at him as Mike said, "You guys seem pretty comfortable like that."

Veronica looked at him pointedly as Logan smirked and nudged her. "See," he whispered. She just rolled her eyes.

Mike took Andrew from Veronica after a few minutes and she settled down on the edge of Juliana's bed to talk to her while Logan and Mike sat down in the chairs by the window, with Andrew settled into a bassinet. They talked for a while until Andrew began to fuss. Logan, who was the closest to him, said, "I'll get him." Gently, he bent down and picked up the crying infant. Instantly, Andrew stopped fussing as Logan spoke to him soothingly. Veronica watched Logan as he sweetly talked to the baby before putting him in Juliana's arms. "Here, you need Mommy huh?" Logan said.

When Logan looked back up from passing Andrew off to his mother, Veronica was staring at him. He smiled as he noticed that she, once again, was playing with the ring on her necklace. He wondered to himself if she knew she was doing it.

Logan and Veronica left the small family alone just awhile later. "So…" Logan said hesitantly as they walked down the hallway of the medical center.

"So?" Veronica echoed.

"Do you think…?" Logan began but trailed off.

"I think…" Veronica said deciding to give in a bit to Logan even though the topic he was attempting to broach was likely to raise her anxiety level a few degrees. She took a deep breath and began again. "I think you were adorable with that baby."

"But…?" Logan asked assuming the worst.

"No but," Veronica replied with a smirk. "_And_ someday when we are ready…" She trailed off.

"When we're ready," Logan said with a nod and wrapped his arm around her shoulder as they left the building.

* * *

"Here, I was going to give this to you at the hotel before we left, but we had to go see the baby," Logan said to Veronica the night after her birthday when they had gotten home.

Veronica took the box he offered to her and tore the wrapping paper off to open it. "I don't get it," she said. Inside the box was a section of newspaper.

"Look at it," Logan said scooting closer to her on the couch.

Veronica examined it. "The real estate section?" she asked.

"I know you don't like the apartment," he said. "I thought maybe we should move."

"What makes you think I don't like our apartment?" Veronica asked. He was right of course. The apartment didn't have enough personality for her. It was just too average. She had learned years ago that "normal" just wasn't her.

"Aside from the fact that you move the furniture around almost daily and are still never happy with it," Logan stated. "I know you. Better than I think you want me to sometimes." He smirked at her.

"Fine," she admitted. "I don't like it."

"I thought we could maybe buy a place," Logan said. "_Our_ place."

Veronica stared at the newspaper clipping in front of her. Moving in with Logan had been a lot easier than she had thought it would be. She was really happy with their situation, and it seemed like taking the next step might be a good idea. But, she still felt the familiar tinge of terror running through her.

"I know it scares you," Logan said. When Veronica opened her mouth, he continued, "I know you, remember."

Honesty, Veronica reminded herself was what this was all about. "It is scary," she admitted. "But, maybe it would be a good idea. I would like a place that is more… us."

Logan nodded with a smile. "We can take our time," he said. He kissed her head and she leaned into his side.


	32. Chapter 32

Logan stood in the bedroom looking at his reflection in the full-length mirror in front of him. He tugged at the sleeves of his dress shirt, straightening them. "You look handsome," Veronica said as she entered the room. "Are you sure you want to go over with me?" she asked. "You could wait and go with my dad and Linda."

"I want to go with you," he replied. "I don't mind sitting around." Logan grabbed his jacket off the bed. "Want me to carry your dress?" he asked.

Veronica grinned at him. "You're so obedient," she said with a laugh.

"Just being a gentleman," he replied.

"Wherever did you learn th…" she began. He cut her off with a kiss.

"Come on, we have a friend getting married." He took the garment bag from her and led her out of the apartment.

They got to the Foreign Cinema just in time for Veronica to go get ready with the rest of the bridesmaids. Mac had decided to keep things basic. So everyone was going simple with hair and makeup.

Logan wandered around the venue for a while waiting then watched while the wedding party took pictures. As dusk began to fall, they hurried back to the staging area, and Logan met Keith and Linda as they arrived, and they found seats for the ceremony. They were seated outside with a canopy of twinkle lights above them.

When Logan saw Veronica walk down the aisle, he couldn't help the grin that formed on his face. He had seen her in her dress before, but it was different this time. He couldn't tear his eyes off her even when Mac began to walk down the aisle. He knew he should be looking at the bride, but couldn't look away especially when Veronica's eyes locked with his and she smiled at him.

The ceremony was simple, short, and sweet. Very Mac. The reception promised to be the highlight. Veronica noticed Logan had hung back from the reception line waiting for her to be done greeting people. When she was finished, she noticed he was across the room at the bar talking to her father and Wallace. She was about to walk over to join them when she was startled by Piz standing in front of her. "Hello Veronica," he greeted.

"Piz, hi," she said in surprise as they hugged awkwardly. "How are you?"

"I'm well," he replied. "How about you?"

"Good," she answered somewhat nervously. They however eventually fell into a somewhat comfortable conversation. Filling the other in on their life since college.

"So you're happy at the FBI?" Piz asked eventually.

"For now," Veronica replied. Her doubts had only been shared with Logan so far. There was no way she getting into that with Piz. "Do you like your job?" she asked quickly changing the subject.

"Yeah, it is always interesting. Always something new." Piz smiled at her. "So are you here with anyone?"

"Oh, umm, Mac didn't tell you?" Veronica asked. She made a mental note to kick Mac's butt.

Piz shook his head. "Tell me what?" he asked.

As if on cue, Logan walked over at that moment. "Hi Piz," he said stretching out his hand to shake Piz's while standing closer than necessary to Veronica. "How have you been?"

"Logan," Piz replied in a puzzled tone. Then glancing at Veronica, realization setting in, he said, "Oh… No, Mac didn't tell me. When did you get back together? Last I heard, in college, you were barely even still friends."

Logan laughed slightly. "Apparently, we needed some time to get our respective acts together. We got back together just over a year ago."

"You've made it a whole year, huh? Impressive," Piz said in a tone that insinuated disbelief and some universal flaw in their relationship.

Veronica could feel Logan tense next to her, and she had to admit Piz's comment was rubbing her the wrong way, too. Logan had been restraining himself out of respect for Veronica, Mac, and Piz, but that comment put him over the edge. He dropped any hint of moderation and wrapped his arm posessively around Veronica pulling her close to him. "Best year of my life," he said. Then pointedly, he added, "So far."

Veronica couldn't help the smile that formed on her face, despite Piz's obvious discomfort. She had leaned into Logan as his other arm wrapped around her as well, so she stood slighting in front of him with his hands meeting in front of her stomach. "I'm sure we'll talk to you later Piz," she said. "My dad is here. You should make sure you say hi to him. He always liked you."

As they walked away from Piz, Logan leaned down and whispered in Veronica's ear. "At least I didn't punch him." She laughed quietly.

* * *

Mac had tweaked things around in wedding tradition to allow Logan to sit at the wedding party table, so he could be with Veronica. The reception was casual anyway, with everyone eating when they wanted and milling around. Most guests were seated at the moment, or at least paying close attention, because the speeches were beginning. Logan was nudging Veronica playfully, teasing her about her speech.

A week before she had nearly had an anxiety attack attempting to write it. She had pleaded with Logan to do it for her. "Come on, you're an author. It'll be easy for you," she had begged. "It wouldn't be as meaningful," he had argued. Eventually he had helped her write something she was happy with though.

As Kevin's brother finished his best man's speech, Logan squeezed Veronica's hand reassuringly. She smiled at him as she stood to give the speech. "I officially met Mac in the parking lot at high school. I was sent to find a girl with blue hair who could help me with a computer question. What I actually found was one of the best friends I could ever ask for…" Veronica began.

When she sat back down, she was happy. The speech had been funny, heartfelt, and well received. "You did great," Logan whispered to her as he wrapped an arm around her.

"Thanks," she said leaning into him. They listened to the last few speeches and then watched as Mac and Kevin cut the cake and traditionally shoved it in each other's face. Logan found the wedding making him even more sentimental when it came to Veronica. He had hardly let go of her all night.

One of the few moments they had been separated during the reception, Veronica was sitting at the table alone. Logan had gone to get them drinks at the bar and had gotten caught up talking to some people. Her father and Linda were dancing. Suddenly, Piz was sitting next to her. "Hi," she said surprised.

"Hi," he replied. "I wanted to talk to you."

"Alright," Veronica replied. "But if this is about Logan…"

"It isn't. Well it is, but…" Piz struggled with what to say. "I shouldn't have had the attitude I did before. It was rude."

"Apology accepted," she replied.

"I guess it is just a sensitive issue for me, you and Logan. I always knew in my mind, when we were dating, that well… that he really had your heart." Piz looked down at his feet. "I tried to tell myself that those thoughts were just me being paranoid because otherwise I am the idiot who stayed with a girl who was really in love with someone else." Piz looked back up at Veronica with a shrug. "Seeing that you're back with him. Well that just proves I was, in fact, an idiot."

Veronica offered Piz a small smile. "You weren't an idiot. When someone lies to themselves as well as I did, you can't expect that other people won't believe the lie too." Piz gave a grateful smile. "Besides, I'm the one who really owes you an apology, for back then. It wasn't fair to you."

"It's okay. That's what college is all about right? Growing up, making mistakes?" Piz asked. Veronica laughed, and they fell into comfortable conversation.

After about a minute of talking to Piz, Veronica looked up and noticed Logan standing off, back from the table behind Piz. She wondered how long he had been watching them. She smiled at him, and he walked over. "Hey Piz," he greeted and continued walking to the other side of Veronica and sat down in an empty chair.

She turned and smiled at Logan as he set a glass of wine in front of her and draped his arm over the back of her chair. "What took you so long?" she asks him.

"Mac's mom," he replies. "I didn't even think she would remember me. Then I don't know that she did so much from high school as from the news." He grimaced. "Good ol' Neptune." Veronica and Piz both laughed. "So how has life been treating you Piz?" Logan asked changing the topic.

They talked for a while before Piz glanced at the dance floor. "Veronica, would you like to dance?" he asked. Turning to Logan, he added, "If you don't mind Logan."

Logan looked at Veronica, who noticed his arm tense behind her. "No, it's fine. Just be sure to return her." Normally, that comment would have had Veronica chiding him for insinuating that she were property in some way, but she let it go.

Logan sat at the table watching Piz and Veronica dance. All his anger management techniques were in play at the moment. He was annoyed at Piz for his comment earlier. He was annoyed at him for sitting with Veronica and talking with her, making her laugh. And he was annoyed at her for dancing with him. But he just took a deep breath and reminded himself of what he and Veronica had. Finally he relaxed a bit when Veronica cast him a sweet smile over Piz's shoulder.

Keith and Linda joined him at the table. "Where's my daughter?" Keith asked. "I was hoping to get a dance."

"Hop in line," Logan said nodding toward the dance floor. "I haven't danced with her yet either."

"Is that Piz?" Keith asked looking more carefully.

"Yep," Logan said shortly.

"Her ex Piz?" Linda asked searching the dance floor for the couple.

"Yep," Logan said again. He took another deep breath. When a new song started and Piz and Veronica continued to dance he felt his body tense again. "I think, maybe, I'll go cut in," he said pushing his chair back from the table. Then he stopped and turned to Keith. "Unless you think it'd make her mad."

"I think you should risk it. Gotta' fight for your woman Logan," Keith said wrapping an arm around Linda. Logan nodded and stood.

Veronica hadn't really known why she agreed to dance with Piz for the second dance. She had seen her dad and Linda sit down with Logan. Just as she was planning how to politely refuse another dance, should Piz ask, Logan appeared at their sides. "Can I cut in?" he asked Piz, who nearly jumped.

"Yeah of course," Piz said. "Thanks Veronica." He walked over to talk to some people who must have been mutual friends of his and Mac's from Seattle.

Logan pulled Veronica into his arms. "Hi," he said quietly.

"Hi," she replied with a smile. "How much was that killing you?"

"I didn't hit him," Logan said.

"Is that the only gauge we have to use?" she asked.

"What can I say?" Logan said with a smirk. "I'm impressed by my self-control when it comes to you." He paused for effect. "Let's just say I'm happier now that you are in my arms."

Veronica stood up on her toes and kissed him quickly. "Me too," she admitted. She rested her head on his chest as he held her closer for the dance. Another slow song began and Logan and Veronica were continuing to dance when Keith approached. "Mind if I steal her away for this one?" he asked. "Linda and I are going to head out soon, leave the rest of the night to you young folks. I just wanted to dance with my beautiful daughter before I left."

"She's all yours," Logan said with a smile passing Veronica off to her father.

Keith took his daughter's hand in his as she placed her other on his shoulder. "Not all mine, anymore," Keith said pointedly at Logan. "But that was bound to happen someday."

Logan smiled at him with a nod before walking over to Linda to ask her to dance.

When Keith and Linda left, Logan glanced around and noticed that the reception was clearing out a little. Mainly just Mac and Kevin's friends remained. Mac had been talking to Veronica for a while, and they were grinning and laughing. It reminded Logan of high school. "How's it feel to be married?" he asked Kevin.

"Damn good, man," Kevin replied. "When are you going to join the club?" he asks with a nod at Veronica.

"When she decides to," Logan said simply.

The band seemed to shift into some faster songs as the crowd became limited to the younger guests. Logan and Veronica joined Mac, Kevin, and their other friends on the dance floor. After a number of fast songs, ending with a ridiculous incident of dancing to the YMCA, another slow song finally filled the air. Kevin instantly pulled his bride close to him, just as Logan did Veronica.

"Have I told you how beautiful you look today?" Logan whispered as he ducked his head near Veronica's ear. Veronica just shook her head. "Well you do," he whispered as one of his hands roamed over the satin covering her back and up to the smooth skin exposed above the dress.

Veronica felt herself purr as Logan's hand traveled over her back. "You look pretty good yourself," she said moving her hands to loosen his tie only slightly. She angled her head and smiled up at him. Logan barely paused before kissing her deeply, as deeply as seemed appropriate in the middle of the dance floor at their friends' wedding. While they kissed, her hands traveled back to his shoulders and eventually behind his neck, where she left them as they broke apart and continued the dance.

Logan shifted his focus from Veronica just briefly, but when he did, he noticed Piz, who was standing nearby talking to Wallace, looking at them with an expression best described as disgust. Logan figured he must have been witness to the kiss. He couldn't help but let out a small puff of laughter. He moved his hand from Veronica's back briefly and gave Piz a small salute-like wave.

Veronica glanced back to see what Logan was up to just in time to see the look on Piz's face. "That was mean," she said to Logan, though the smile she was trying to suppress gave away her amusement.

"Serves him right for making moves on my girl," Logan said with a smirk.

"He was not making moves," Veronica replied.

"If you say so, but I still reserve the right to stake my claim after everything that happened in college." Veronica just laughed and nudged him in the stomach with her elbow as the slow song ended, and Mac came over to her.

Wallace dragged Piz out onto the dance floor as a song the gang had frequently danced to in college began to play from the speakers. "My request," Wallace said. "Congrats Mac." He pulled her into a hug.

"I'll be right back," Logan said to Veronica as he walked toward the DJ.

Veronica watched him go puzzled. "He must want to request something. Everyone should be on guard; this could end badly," she said with a laugh.

They danced to a number of more songs, giving Veronica a chance to dance with Wallace and Kevin, and Logan the opportunity to dance with the bride. "So think you can convince that friend of yours that she might want to give this wedding thing a chance?" Logan asked Mac as they danced.

"She took the ring Logan," Mac replied. "I'd be happy with that for now if I were you." Logan nodded silently. "You don't think it has anything to do with _you_, do you?" Mac asked.

Logan paused longer than he should have, giving away his insecurities. "I guess not," he said. "I mean, I know it is more that she promised herself she would never get married. I just wish she knew what I do…" he trailed off.

"And what's that?" Mac asked.

"That _we_ could do it right," he replied simply. Just then, the song ended. "Thanks for the dance Mrs. Richardson." Logan grinned at Mac.

"My pleasure, Mr. Echolls," she replied. "And… just have faith."

Logan grinned at her as Veronica moved back closer to him. The notes of a new song rang out. Veronica stopped talking to Wallace and turned to Logan with a questioning look. "You're request?" she asked recognizing the tune of _I Hear the Bells_ began to play.

"I wasn't sure he'd have it. It isn't that popular, but I guess they can pretty much download anything now though." Logan explained.

"So, I have a question," Veronica said. Logan prepared himself to explain why he'd requested the song considering how that night had ended for them, but was surprised by Veronica's question. "Why aren't you dancing with me yet?" Logan smiled and pulled her into his arms, as hers traveled up to his shoulders. "I really like this song," Veronica stated a grin on her face as Logan stared into her eyes.

"So you've told me before," he replied. "I told you I remembered that night eventually."

Veronica continued to smile up at him. "I'm sorry I ran," she admitted quietly.

"I'm sorry I didn't chase you," he said leaning his forehead down to meet hers. "Now," he said with a pause. "I would."

Their eyes never breaking contact, she said, "Now, you wouldn't need to."


	33. Chapter 33

"The next one was the one you liked best from the pictures," Logan said as he pulled the Zip Car they had been using for the day to check out some houses over to the side of the street and into a parking place. "Are you sure we can't call about the one over in Sea Cliff?" he asked.

"No Logan," Veronica stated firmly. "We are not buying a $7.5 million dollar house."

"I just want to see it," he said in an exaggerated whine that made Veronica laugh.

"Let's look at this one," Veronica said. "It looked amazing. And the price is reasonable."

"Okay. Whatever you want," Logan said draping his arm over Veronica's shoulders. He had pushed her for some time to look at houses she classified as mansions, but eventually he had begun to realize that he wanted to avoid the lifestyle he had grown up in as much as she did. There was still something appealing about those over-the-top houses though. "This is it," he said checking the address on the paper he held. The agent had obviously not arrived yet.

"The building is blue and pink," Veronica said. "Yet, it is really cool."

Logan nodded in agreement. "So, want to talk about the other places we have seen?" he asked.

"Sure. What'd you think of the last one?" Veronica asked.

"I liked it, but it was kind of plain, which was the whole reason for leaving the place we are in right now," Logan explained. "What about the first one we looked at today?"

"It was okay. I was mostly just annoyed by the way that woman kept telling me what a great nursery that third bedroom would make. It was awfully presumptuous of her," Veronica said with a scowl. Logan laughed. "But I mean, even without that, it wasn't anything special. The second one?" she asked.

"Absolutely not," Logan said. "That place was awful."

"Okay good," Veronica said with a laugh. "I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page." The second house had been one of the gaudiest places she had ever seen.

Just then a man came around the corner. Glancing at Logan and Veronica, he asked, "Mr. and Mrs. Echolls? I'm Steve. I spoke to you on the phone." The man was shaking Logan's hand and still speaking incredibly quickly. Both Logan and Veronica had opened their mouths to inform him that they weren't married, but he had simply continued to talk. "Let me show you the place. I am so sorry if you were waiting. It has been a crazy, crazy day."

"No problem," Logan said as they followed Steve up a set of stairs to the front door.

"The garage is obviously on street level," Steve explained motioning to the garage door they were walking above. "Having a garage in this area is pretty nice. If you don't have a car, many people rent them out to make some extra money. Not a bad option."

Steve opened the front door and continued talking. "The house was built in 1906 in the Edwardian style. A lot of the features of the house are original and restored. It is in very nice condition..."

Logan's brain was swimming with the facts Steve was throwing out. He really just wanted to look at the house. Suddenly, he felt Veronica's hand on his arm. He turned to look at her and saw that she was grinning and staring up at the staircase in front of them. "Logan…" she breathed out a smile on her face.

Steve was still babbling on and Logan found he just wanted to talk to Veronica about this house she had clearly just fallen in love with. "Steve, I'm sorry. But can we just look around for a minute and then have you tell us about it?"

"Oh…," Steve said stopping mid sentence. "Sure."

They wandered through the house while Steve stood in the entryway. "Logan," Veronica said. "I love it." The whole house had open doorways with beautiful wood framing around them, of a deep rich color to match the baseboards and railing to the stairs. There were built in units in nearly every room. The top floor had an extra room with slanted ceilings. The walls of each room were painted a different color, each expertly chosen. The whole place had beautiful windows, which filled the house with light.

"It's perfect," Logan agreed as they stood in a beautiful backyard garden and patio. "Let's go back in and talk to Steve."

* * *

Veronica was in the kitchen rummaging through the fridge for something to make for dinner when Logan came into the apartment. She heard the door slam exceptionally loudly. "Logan?" she asked. "Is everything okay?" When she didn't get a response, she walked out of the kitchen to find Logan pacing up and down in the entryway. He didn't seem to notice her at all as he turned once more toward the door, hauled out and, with all his strength, punched the wall.

Veronica let out a shriek. "Logan! What the hell?" she screamed in shock. He was now standing with a hand on either side of the door, leaning forward so his forehead rested against it. His entire body was shaking, just slightly. "Logan, honey?" Veronica asked approaching him. They weren't much for pet names, but she was a bit scared at the moment, and it seemed an appropriate time. "Is everything okay?" she asked. As if approaching a wild animal, she slowly put out her hand and touched his back.

Logan relaxed immediately under Veronica's touch. "Sorry," he muttered. "I didn't mean to scare you. That must have," he said.

"It's fine," she said now rubbing his back gently. Logan hadn't moved from where he leaned against the door. "Come on," she said slipping one of his hands from the doorframe and into hers. "What happened?" She led him to the couch.

Logan felt the anger build up in him again so quickly that he nearly flung Veronica's arm away from him. He heard her gasp but was beyond being able to react logically to it. He moved away from her because the last thing he wanted to do, the last thing he would ever do, was let Veronica get hurt because he lost control in anger.

She stepped back. She'd seen Logan angry plenty, even violent. But not lately. She perched herself on the arm of the chair, on the opposite side of the room. "Logan?" she asked.

Logan took a deep breath. "I think his dad is fucking hitting him," he finally let out in what sounded like a growl to Veronica.

"Who?" she asked quickly. Logan had been at the learning center that day, so it must have been one of the kids there.

"Oliver." Logan was pacing again, this time across the living room.

"Ohh," Veronica breathed out. She watched as Logan continued to pace the room. "Logan," she said soothingly. He didn't respond, so she simply remained seated, observing him.

"God damn it," Logan snarled out, kicking an ottoman out of the way and flopping down on the couch. His hands were clenched in fists, and he felt tears threatening to spill from his eyes. "Fuck," he muttered more quietly.

Veronica slid from the arm of the chair and moved to sit by Logan on the couch. She reached out and touched his hand. Gently, she urged his fist to relax and threaded her fingers with his. "I'm sorry," she said. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

Slowly, Logan nodded and began the story of his afternoon.

_Logan had gotten to the learning center around 3:30. That was a usual time for the kids to begin showing up. He had been helping a small group of them add descriptive language to their narration. Oliver had told him that he had a draft of a new story he wanted Logan's input on. As their initial interactions had shown, Logan and Oliver had really hit it off. Logan had become a true mentor to the boy who seemed to really need someone who cared. _

_Oliver still hadn't shown up by 4:10, and Logan was puzzled. He was editing a story for one of the girls fifteen minutes later when Oliver finally came into the room. He was even quieter and more unassuming than usual. He settled down at the table a few seats from Logan and began to write silently. _

_When Logan had finished editing the girl's story and given her some feedback, he moved down to sit by Oliver. "Hey man," he greeted. "How's it going?" He patted Oliver on the shoulder. He did a double take as he thought he noticed the boy flinch, but he pushed the thought aside. _

"_Fine," Oliver had replied. "Here's the new story I mentioned." He avoided eye contact with Logan as he slid his notebook toward him. _

"_Oliver?" Logan asked. "What's wrong?" _

"_Nothing. I'm fine." Oliver was picking at the edge of the table. _

"_Yeah right," Logan said. "I've used that line enough when I didn't mean it. Spill." _

"_It's fine. My dad just got mad at me for something. It isn't a big deal. Parents suck. Right?" Oliver asked._

_His flippant attitude was so unlike him that Logan immediately knew there was more to it. He let it go for a while though. "They certainly can," Logan replied, and he began to read Oliver's new story. _

_After he had read the story and they worked on it for about thirty minutes, people began to filter out of the room. "I should go," Oliver had said. _

"_Want to tell me about the fight?" Logan asked as they had walked down the hall toward the front doors of the learning center. _

"_It wasn't a big deal. I forgot to take the trash out last night before I went to bed and my dad was mad. He didn't want to let me come here today." Oliver had moved to put on his sweatshirt just before they reached the doors to outside. As he did so, Logan, who was standing behind him slightly, noticed something on the boy's back as his t-shirt pulled down slightly with the movement of the sweatshirt. _

"I know those marks, Veronica," Logan said as he abruptly stopped his narrative. "I know what causes them." He was running his hand through his hair, his eyes pressed closed.

Veronica reached up gently and placed her hand on Logan's cheek. He leaned into her and took a deep breath. "What did you do?" she asked.

Logan sighed again. "I told the director. Employees of the learning center are mandatory reporters. I don't know it that applies to us as volunteers, but he said he would make the call for me." Logan swallowed. "Somebody should be investigating."

"I'm sorry Logan," Veronica said sweetly. Logan just nodded silently. He leaned into her hand a bit more.

Dinner that night was fairly quiet. Logan was in no mood to talk, and Veronica had no idea what to say. After dinner, they walked Taser to the park. The walk was equally quiet. They held hands the entire time but barely said anything. Despite still having barely spoken, they fell asleep wrapped together, Logan's arms tight around Veronica.

She woke up an hour or so later and rolled back over to face Logan. He was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling. "Have you been awake this whole time?" she asked quietly. He nodded. She reached out and ran two fingers down his jaw line.

"He's such a good kid," Logan began. "He doesn't deserve this."

Veronica propped herself up on her elbow and observed Logan. She stared at him for a minute, noticing what appeared to be a tear running down his cheek. "Neither did you," she finally said in almost a whisper.

Logan released a breath that sounded almost like a laugh to Veronica. "Yeah," he said in a tone lacking genuineness.

Veronica rolled on to her stomach and faced Logan. She observed him for a moment, as he continued to stare at the ceiling. After a minute she said, "I am sorry Logan."

"For what?" he asked. He could tell that this wasn't a comment about the situation but an authentic apology for something she thought she had done. He turned his head to look at her.

"That we never talked about it." She sighed. "When I found out the truth I didn't know what to say. I mean, we were just kids right? I had no idea how to talk to you about it. Then as we got older, we had gone so long without addressing it I just didn't know how to bring it up." She offered him a sad smile. "I'm just sorry I never figured it out."

Logan turned onto his side to face Veronica. "It's fine," he said.

"No it isn't," she replied. "I'm really sorry." Logan's eyes had dropped downward and he stared at the mattress between them. Eventually he looked back up at her, and not knowing what else to do, she leaned forward and kissed him briefly.

They were silent for quite a while before Logan finally lay back on his pillow and said, "I used to purposefully antagonize him."

"Hmm?" Veronica asked.

"Aaron," Logan explained though it was unneeded. "I used to do things I knew would get him mad. Violent." He folded his arms under his head.

"Why?" Veronica asked rolling toward Logan more, so she was lying on her stomach now. "Why would you have done that?"

Logan didn't move as he responded. "I always hated that it seemed to come out of nowhere. I never knew what would set Aaron off. Sometimes some huge mistake would seem like no big deal to him and then an innocent thing would bring on… well you know." When Logan stopped talking, Veronica just allowed the silence, knowing he would continue again.

"At first, when I was still pretty young, I tried to avoid doing things to upset him. I thought if I could just be good, he wouldn't get mad anymore. But that never worked." He paused again. "I remember once, I picked some flowers for my mom because I thought they were pretty and she would like them. Aaron lost it; he said something about me ruining the aesthetics of the landscaping. I was so confused by it all. But, that's what I mean, anything could set him off." He sighed. "As I got older, I decided _screw-it_. If he was going to do that to me, it would be on my terms, so I would do things I knew would set him off. That way it was never a surprise."

Veronica didn't say anything. She found that just like when they were younger, she didn't know what to say. Instead, she slipped her hand into Logan's where it rested near his head. He turned his head and looked at her. "Thanks," he said with a small smile.

"For what?" Veronica asked. She ran her fingers through his gently, intertwining their hands.

"For loving me," he replied. "I spent a lot of my life thinking that… that nobody could."

Veronica felt like crying at Logan's admission. She slipped her hand from his and moved it to the back of his neck. Pulling him toward her, she kissed him firmly but gently. She realized she finally knew what to say to Logan about his childhood of abuse. Barely pulling back she said, "What your dad did had nothing to do with who you were Logan." She kissed him again very quickly. "You're wonderful. And, I do love you, so much."

"I love you too, more than anything," he replied.

* * *

"I got a call from Steve today," Logan said as he heard Veronica open the door to the apartment when she came home from work.

"Steve the real-estate agent?" she asked coming into the living room. Taser bounded over to her, and she knelt down to pet him. Logan nodded but remained silent. "Well?" she asked impatiently.

"It is all working out. The first round of inspections went well. If everything keeps on this path, we'll have the house very soon." Logan grinned at her from across the room.

"Oh my god," she replied. Then suddenly she was struck with a wave of terror. "We're buying a house," she said matter-of-factly.

Logan nodded. "We are buying a house." He watched Veronica carefully as she crossed the room and sat next to him on the couch. "Are you having second thoughts about it?" he asked, noticing her concern.

"No, it's just a big… just big." She smiled at him.

He leaned in and kissed her. "How was work?" He changed the subject knowing something was wrong.

"Fine," she replied. "Any news about Oliver?"

"He came to the center today, acted like everything was normal, but I heard that CPS went out to his house. I guess they didn't have enough evidence of anything or something. Who knows? They said that someone should call again if we notice anything odd." Logan sighed in frustration.

"That's all you can do," Veronica stated. "You remember I am going out with the girls tonight?"

"Yeah," Logan replied. "Taser and I have some quality male bonding time planned."


	34. Chapter 34

Veronica and Mac sat at a table in the bar where all the girls had met. Juliana was outside on the phone talking to Mike. It was her first night away from the baby, and she was exceptionally nervous. Holly and Susan were out dancing. Veronica swirled the ice in her drink with the small black straw. "So, what's up?" Mac asked.

"Nothing," Veronica replied.

"Yeah right," Mac said. "I've seen that look before. What'd Logan do?"

"Nothing; he's wonderful." Veronica let go of the straw and took a sip of her drink.

"Why don't you sound happy about that?" Mac asked. "Most women don't complain about how wonderful their boyfriends are."

"I don't know. It's just…" Veronica trailed off as she stared off into space.

"Veronica?" Mac asked. "Just tell me what is going on. That's what I'm here for."

"So, it looks like we might get that house," Veronica explained. "Apparently, the real-estate agent called Logan today."

"The one you loved? That's great." Mac smiled at her.

"That's what you'd think. Logan told me tonight when I got home, and I knew he was expecting me to be thrilled. Like to throw myself into his arms in excitement, like people do in the movies."

"But, you didn't?"

"Not at all," Veronica said with a sigh. "It was all I could do to keep myself from running out of the room, away from him." She bit her bottom lip. "I don't know if I can buy a house with him."

"You're scared," Mac said.

It was a statement not a question, but Veronica answered it anyway. "Yeah." She took another sip of her drink. "But it isn't just being scared."

"What else is it?" Mac asked.

"Well, buying a house is just an enormous step. I mean I might as well put this on my finger," she said indicating the ring on the chain around her neck. She glanced down at the piece of jewelry.

"Why don't you?" Mac asked. "I mean, Veronica, I know you promised yourself you would never get married, but why stick with that? Isn't it just limiting yourself in a different way?" She placed her hand on top of her friend's. "Don't you think Logan is worth it?"

"Of course, I do," said Veronica quickly. "It's not him; I trust Logan. I do." She sighed again. "I know he loves me."

"Veronica, why do you sound so sad when you say that?" Mac asked.

Veronica remained silent for a few minutes. Mac just sat and waited. "What if I break his heart again?" Veronica finally asked. She let the question hang in the air before continuing. "He told me when he broke up with my during college that he thought it was better to face survivable pain then rather than unbearable pain in the future."

"Yeah," Mac said remembering back to Veronica and Logan's first college break-up.

"What if I am just setting him up for excruciating pain in the future by staying with him now?"

"Are you planning on ending things with him?" asked Mac.

"Not planning it no, but I am pretty sure my mom wasn't planning on leaving me and my dad eith..." Veronica stopped mid-word as she realized what she had just said.

"Veronica," Mac said gently taking her friend's hand again. "Veronica, you are not your mother."

"I know but…"

"There aren't any buts about it," Mac said definitely. "I have known you for over ten years now. You won't break his heart again."

"How do you know?" Veronica asked.

"Because you are worried about breaking his heart." Mac smiled at her. "If you weren't worried about it, I might think you could do it again, but you are."

* * *

Veronica tripped slightly as she put down her purse coming into the apartment that night. The lights were all off and she couldn't hear anything. Assuming Logan was asleep, she slipped off her shoes and tried to walk quietly through the apartment. Though in the dark and her slightly intoxicated state, she bumped into the table at the end of the hallway. "Damn it," she muttered rubbing her foot where she had stubbed her toe.

"Veronica? Are you okay?" she heard Logan's tired voice ask. Looking up from her injured foot, she saw him standing in the doorway to their bedroom. He wore only his boxers and was running his hand through his hair in a way that she knew she had woken him.

"Sorry," she said. "Stubbed my toe."

"You're drunk," he said with a smile as he walked toward her.

"No," she stated. When he just looked at her, she amended, "Okay, maybe a little."

"Did you have fun with the girls?" he asked.

"I talked to Mac," Veronica said. Logan looked puzzled at her response, which seemed to not answer his question. "About you."

"Oh yeah?" Logan asked. Veronica leaned into him unsteadily causing him to laugh. "Come on, let's get you to bed. Then you can tell me about talking to Mac about me."

"Thanks," Veronica said as he guided her to the bedroom. "Maybe I had more to drink than I thought." Logan led her to the bed, where she sat down, while he pulled pajamas from her dresser for her. When he turned around, Veronica was staring at him. "I love you," she said.

He smiled and let out a small laugh. "I love you, too." He sat next to her. "You really must be drunk."

"What makes you say that?"

"'Cause you never say you love me out of the blue like that, unless you are drunk," Logan said with a smile at her. Then he noticed her face fall. "Veronica, I was just kidding. What's wrong?" When she just shook her head, he knew this was a bigger issue. "What'd you and Mac talk about?" he asked.

"You," she answered.

"You said that. What about me?" he asked. When she didn't response, he decided to let it go for the night. "It's late; you should sleep," Logan said pulling down the covers. "Here," he said. "Climb in."

"I don't want to break your heart," Veronica said quietly. At first Logan thought she was drunker than he had originally thought, but she actually sounded very lucid.

"I don't want that either," he said. "Veronica, what is this about?"

"That's what I told Mac. That I don't want to break your heart again." She looked up at him when she spoke. "I did before, I know."

"We did our share of damage to each other," he said, "but that is in the past."

"What if I do it again Logan?" she asked. Veronica knew she wouldn't be having this conversation with Logan if she hadn't been drinking, but part of her was glad her inhibitions had been lessened by the alcohol. Part of her knew this conversation needed to happen.

"What if I break your heart again?" he asked.

"You never…" She was about to argue that he hadn't broken her heart in the past, but she knew it was a lie. Every mean thing he had done in high school, seeing Kendall at his door after prom, him sleeping with Madison, all of those things had broken her heart. "You won't," she finally said.

"How do you know?" he asked.

She thought for a moment. She did know, but how? "I trust you," she finally said.

"I trust you, too," he said. "We've changed a lot since college, Veronica."

She nodded thinking back to their relationship then compared to the last year. "Yeah," she agreed. "But, don't you wish you had proposed to someone who had just said yes?" she asked after a pause, glancing down at the ring lying against her chest.

"No," he replied quickly, his line of sight following hers to the ring.

"Why not?" she asked looking up at him in surprise at the simplicity of his answer.

"Because anyone who would have just said yes wouldn't have been you," he answered.

"I am excited about the house," she said. To someone else, it might have seemed like it came out of nowhere, but Logan understood the connection to their conversation.

"I'm scared too," he admitted. "But, it is worth the risk."

She nodded in agreement. "Will you kiss me?" she asked smiling up at him.

"Of course." He kissed her deeply, pressing her back into the headboard of the bed. "I can help you out of those clothes, too." He grinned against her lips as he kissed her again.

She laughed. "Can you please? It might be too tough for me."

* * *

"So is this party like an annual thing?" Veronica asked as she and Logan finished putting on costumes for the Halloween party at the learning center.

"I guess so," Logan replied. "Something to keep the kids out of trouble on Halloween."

"That's smart," she said. Logan had explained about the party the week before and asked Veronica to go with him. She had agreed; so they were doing that rather than heading out to a party at Holly's place. "Are we like chaperones?" she asked.

"I don't think so, at least not really." Logan thought it over. "Well, we are supposed to keep an eye on them and make sure they don't do anything they shouldn't."

"Isn't that what chaperones do?" Veronica asked.

"Ours didn't in high school, at least not well," Logan replied with a laugh.

"That's true," Veronica said crossing to the bathroom. "They really failed with you. How many places on campus did you have sex?" she asked with a snicker.

"In high school? None, thank you very much," Logan answered now standing in the bathroom doorway. "Nice costume," he said grinning at her.

"Thanks," she responded. "Not so bad yourself." She straightened her beret in the mirror and leaned up to kiss Logan's cheek, leaving a red kiss mark from her fresh lipstick on him. "Don't forget the guns, Clyde," she added with a grin.

"Sure won't, Bonnie," he said following behind her.

They're costumes had been something of a debate. Logan was insisting on doing the couple thing, despite Veronica pointing out it's obvious cheesiness. They were spending the night around teenagers, so there was an appropriateness requirement that wouldn't have existed otherwise. Finally, there were their own senses of style and personalities that wouldn't let them wear just any costumes. Hence, the Bonnie and Clyde costumes they had created from wonderful vintage resale clothing store finds.

* * *

Veronica stood near the doorway of the gymnasium at the learning center. She and Logan had just entered, and nearly immediately he had been surrounded by a group of teenagers from the writing program. They were explaining enthusiastically about stories they had submitted for a statewide writing competition.

Veronica smiled while she watched Logan interact with these teenagers. They clearly thought he was amazing. She glanced around hoping to see Oliver. He was the only one of the kids she had met. Logan had brought him home twice more since the first time he joined them for dinner. She didn't see him anywhere, so she turned her focus back to Logan, who was glancing back at her. He motioned to her with his head. When she came over, he said, "Guys, this is my girlfriend, Veronica." He continued to introduce her to all of the kids. She noticed that a couple of the girls gave her cold looks.

As the kids finally moved back to the dance floor or snack table and they were left alone, Veronica laughed.

"What?" Logan asked.

"Those girls sure weren't happy to be introduced to me," she said smiling.

"Huh?" Logan asked obliviously. "Which girls?"

"You're writing kids. I'd say a couple of those girls have a bit of a crush on you." Veronica linked her arm through Logan's.

"Really?" Logan asked looking around. "Which ones?" he added jokingly. Veronica elbowed him in the side.

Logan and Veronica made the rounds, and he introduced her to some of the other volunteers and employees of the learning center. About thirty minutes into the dance, Oliver finally showed up. He talked with Logan and Veronica for a while, and then went off with a few of the kids. "He likes that girl," Logan whispered to Veronica and pointing to the girl Oliver was shyly talking to.

"I'd say she likes him too," she added.

"You think?" Logan asked. "How do you know?"

"Her smile," she replied. "The whole time they kids were talking to you and up until now, she has barely smiled. Since he started talking to her, she hasn't stopped."

"Huh," Logan said. "I hadn't noticed that."

The night wore on. Logan and Veronica talked to some of the other chaperones and fulfilled their duty of keeping the kids out of trouble. As the end of the dance was approaching, Oliver and the girl he had been talking to, Rachel, came over to talk to them. Rachel smiled shyly at Veronica. "Oliver said you work for the FBI," she said quietly.

Veronica nodded. "Yeah, I do."

"That is so cool," Rachel said. "My dad is a cop, and I always thought being in law enforcement would be cool." They sat and talked for a while. As the DJ started to play a slow song, Veronica noticed Logan raise his eyebrows and Oliver and jerk his head slightly.

Oliver looked at Logan nervously. Logan nodded his head, and Oliver turned to Rachel. "Rachel, do you want to dance?" he asked.

Rachel smiled. "Yeah, that would be nice."

As the kids walked away, Veronica looked at Logan. "Cute," she said. "Did he tell you he wanted to dance with her?"

"Maybe," Logan said. "I'm sorry I never took you to a dance in high school."

"That's okay," Veronica said watching all the young couples dance, some awkwardly, some a little too comfortably for their age in her opinion.

When she looked back at Logan, he was standing up. "Would you like to dance Veronica?" he asked.

She laughed. "I'd love to," she replied taking his outstretched hand. As he pulled her into his arms at the end of the dance floor, she asked, "Are we allowed?"

"Why not," he replied. They danced in silence for a minute before he said, "Do you remember that dance during senior year? The one after Duncan and Hannah were gone. When you pulled out me on to the dance floor."

"Yeah, I remember."

"I acted like I didn't want to dance with you," he stated. Veronica nodded. "I did," Logan admitted. "It was just easier to act like a jackass."

Veronica smiled. "Why was that do you think?"

"Because it would have been too dangerous to let you know I still loved you in case you didn't feel the same way."

"I did," she admitted. Logan wanted to kiss her but knew that would be the wrong move in a room full of adolescents. He'd just have to wait until they were home.


	35. Chapter 35

The dance ended and Logan and Veronica went with a few other chaperones to watch the kids in the parking lot while they waited for their rides. Within 30 minutes, almost every kid had been picked up. The only one remaining from the writing program was Oliver. When his dad finally pulled up, Oliver said goodbye to Logan and Veronica and hurried over to the car. They continued to wait for the remaining few kids to be picked up. After a few minutes, Logan noticed that Oliver and his dad still hadn't left. They were both outside the car now on the driver's side.

"I'm going to go see if everything is okay," he said to Veronica. She nodded and followed him.

As they approached the car it became clear that Oliver and his father were arguing. "Come on, dad. Just let me drive home. It'll be safer," Oliver was arguing.

"Like hell boy," his dad said angrily. "Get back in the car." He reached up and grabbed Oliver by the shoulder and shoved him toward the passenger side of the car.

When Logan saw, he quickened his pace into a jog. "Hey," he yelled. "Leave him alone." Veronica was following close behind him.

"What the hell business is it of yours?" Oliver's father asked glaring at Logan.

Logan slowed his pace as he approached the clearly intoxicated man. He now understood why Oliver had been trying to convince his dad to let him drive. "It's my business because I care about the wellbeing of your son," Logan said.

By this point, Oliver had readjusted himself from stumbling after the shove his father had given him. "Logan, it is fine," he said trying to move between his father and Logan. "We're fine."

"No, Oliver," Logan replied loudly. "You aren't." Turning toward the boy he added quietly, "You don't have to handle this alone."

"Oliver, get in the car." His father had grabbed him by the back of the neck with one hand and the upper arm with the other. He shoved the boy toward the car causing Oliver to completely lose his footing and stumble into the car and to the ground.

"That's enough," Logan said stepping between Oliver and his father.

Veronica had immediately dropped to her knees next to Oliver. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said. But he was rubbing his neck where his father had grabbed him, and Veronica noticed blood dripping from the finger nail marks made on his skin.

At the same time, Oliver's father had stepped closer to Logan and seemed ready for a fight. "This is between me and my boy," he said angrily.

"Not anymore," Logan answered. "Now it is between you and _me_."

"Get out of my way," the boys' father snarled stepping even closer to Logan.

Veronica watched Logan's hands fist. "Shit," she murmured and jumped to her feet, helping Oliver up at the same time and moving in front of him. "Logan, don't." She reached her hand out and touched Logan's arm.

"Are you sure you're ready to fight someone who's going to hit back?" Logan asked. "Believe me. I'm plenty good at it too."

Oliver's father seemed to be weighing his options. He was clearly drunk, and Logan had about three inches on his height. "Fine," he said stepping back. "We'll just leave."

"Like hell you will," Veronica said jumping into the situation. "You can't drive him home in your condition."

Oliver's father started to turn on Veronica. "Don't even think about touching her," Logan said angrily.

Oliver's father looked between both of them and then back at his son standing behind them. "This is more trouble than I want. You want to protect him so badly," he muttered, "why don't you take him home with you?"

"Happily," Logan said. "At least I'll know he's safe."

"Fine." And with that his father flung open the door of the car, climbed in, and left Oliver standing in the parking lot with Veronica and Logan. They all watched the car drive away.

"I can't believe he actually left," Oliver said.

"Come on, Oliver." Veronica took his arm gently. "Let's go, Logan." She was just relived Logan hadn't hit the man. The last thing they needed was him going to the police station on assault charges. She'd seen the damage he could dish out when he was that angry.

"I can just take the bus home," Oliver said.

"Not a chance," Logan replied. "Your dad said we should take you home with us, so we will."

"But…" Oliver began.

"Don't argue, Oliver," Veronica said. "We are happy to have you, and we have a spare room."

"Okay," the boy relented. "If you are sure…" He took a deep breath. "My dad will have calmed down by tomorrow."

Veronica nodded to him reassuringly. Logan still looked furious. "Logan, want to call us a cab?" she asked. He nodded. He didn't seem to trust himself to speak. Logan pulled out his phone and stepped away.

Veronica turned to Oliver. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said with a shrug. "I'm fine."

"My coworker and I can give you a ride to school in the morning on our way into the office. Will you need to go home first to get your stuff?"

"I figured I wouldn't do any school work tonight, so I left everything in my locker." Oliver grew silent for a moment. "It is probably better if I don't go home until later on, give my dad a chance to cool down."

Veronica began to ask a question but ended up just closing her mouth. She wasn't sure how to word it.

* * *

Veronica was sitting on the bed when Logan finally came into the bedroom. "Did you get him settled in?" she asked.

Logan nodded. "I gave him a toothbrush and showed him where everything was. I think he is getting into bed now." He sat down on the bed next to her. "Veronica," he asked, "did we do the right thing?" Logan ran his hand through his hair. "I mean bringing him home with us. Was it okay for us to get this involved?"

Veronica moved closer to Logan and ran her hand down his back. "What else could we do Logan? We couldn't send him home with his dad. Not with his father like that."

"I'm going to call CPS in the morning," Logan said decidedly. "I have something specific to report now."

"Is there anyone else you can call too?" Veronica asked as she got up to put on pajamas. "Like family or someone else who can help him?"

"He has an aunt who lives in the area I think. His mom's sister," he said throwing his costume into the laundry hamper. "He said he hasn't really seen her much since his mom died, but maybe she is on his emergency contact card down at the center." Logan crawled into bed next to Veronica. "I'll check tomorrow."

Veronica turned off her bedside lamp and lay back. Logan followed suit and was tried to fall asleep. After a few moments of tossing and turning, he said, "Do you think I should check on him?"

"Huh?" Veronica asked.

"Should I check on Oliver?" Logan asked. "Just in case?"

"I'm sure he is fine," she replied. "He isn't a little kid. Plus he knows where we are if he needs something." She rolled over to face Logan. She cuddled up against him hoping it would relax him some. "Come on," she said wrapping an arm across his chest, "go to sleep."

* * *

The next morning Veronica and Leslie dropped Oliver off at his school on their way to work. Logan did find contact information for Oliver's aunt down at the center. He made calls to CPS, to report the incident from the night before, and to Oliver's aunt, to explain the situation. He was unable to reach her, so he just left a message.

Logan was making dinner when Veronica came home from the office. He went into the entryway to greet her, his hands still covered in olive oil from cooking. "Hey," he said, but stopped suddenly. Oliver was also standing in the entryway looking somewhat uncomfortable.

"Oliver needs to stay with up for a few more nights," Veronica explained. Turning to Oliver, she said, "You can go work on your homework in the guest room if you want; there is a desk in there, or you can do it in the dining room."

"I'll go in the bedroom," he replied. "I do better without distraction." He turned and walked down the hall. "Thank you for letting me stay with you."

"No problem sweetie," Veronica said. She turned and went into the kitchen with Logan.

"What happened?" he asked as he went back to cooking.

"His dad was in a car accident last night. Did you get his aunts' number?"

"Yeah, but she didn't answer, so I left a message to call me," Logan said. "A car accident?" he asked in disbelief. "I am so glad Oliver wasn't in the car. Is his dad hurt?"

"Not badly," Veronica said. "But, they arrested him. Apparently, he will probably be serving some jail time. It might be close to six months."

"Was someone hurt?" Logan asked.

"Fortunately no," Veronica replied, "but this wasn't his first DUI. In fact, it seems to be a regular occurrence."

"How did you find all this out?" Logan asked.

"I went in to the school with Oliver this morning," she replied. "I wanted to let someone know what happened. The school had gotten a call from the police this morning. I did some poking around at work to find out the rest."

"So what is going to happen to Oliver?" Logan asked pulling lasagna out of the oven.

"That is why I asked about his aunt. The school office thought we should have him call her. CPS will need to place him, at least while his father is in prison, and they will prefer it be with family."

"Wow," Logan said leaning back against the counter.

"I know," Veronica agreed. She leaned against him and he wrapped his arms around her.

"Dinner's ready," Logan said finally. "I'll go get Oliver if you want to set the table."

"Sure," she replied.

They had a nice dinner. Afterwards, Logan and Oliver worked a bit on one of Oliver's stories, while Veronica read on the couch. Then Oliver went back to doing his homework, and Logan and Veronica took Taser for his walk.

While they were walking, Logan said, "You know when we talked about the fact that we would like to have a child some day. I wasn't thinking it would start with the kid as a teenager."

Veronica laughed slightly. "Of all the teenagers, he is a good one. But I know what you mean. It is just for a few days though." They walked a while in silence. "Logan," she began hesitantly. "Should we talk about if we want to see about keeping him with us for the long term?"

"Honestly, I thought about that a few times tonight. I think maybe we should wait until we get in touch with his aunt before we talk about it."

"Okay," Veronica said taking his arm. "I just want you to know that if you want to do that, I would be willing to as well."

"Thanks," Logan said. He knew Veronica liked Oliver and wanted the best for him, but she wasn't as attached to the boy as he was. She was making the offer for him, but he also wasn't sure they would be able to give Oliver what he needed.

When they got back from their walk, Logan went in to talk to Oliver and have him call his aunt. He was actually able to reach her that time, and they talked for nearly an hour. Logan and Veronica were sitting in the living room when Oliver emerged from the bedroom.

"She's out of town," Oliver said. "It's why you couldn't reach her earlier Logan," he explained. "But she said I could stay with her. She'll be back this weekend." He smiled slightly. "She actually said she would love for me to stay with her."

"She'd be crazy not to," Veronica said with a smile. "You can stay with us until she gets back."

"Thanks," Oliver said.

"I'd say it is bedtime for all of us," Logan said. "Do you need anything Oliver?"

"No," he replied. "I'm all set. Thanks again."

"It is our pleasure," Veronica said giving the boy a hug.

"Definitely," Logan added also offering Oliver a hug.

When he and Veronica were getting into bed, Logan said, "I'm glad he can stay with his aunt. We could have let him stay with us, but I think this will be a lot better for him."

Veronica nodded. "You'll still have to keep up with him to see if we can do anything," she said.

* * *

The weekend turned out to be a very eventful one for Logan and Veronica. Not only did they help Oliver get all his stuff packed up to move to his aunts, but they also found out everything had worked out with the house and they would close on Monday.

As they pulled up to Oliver's aunts in a Zip Car, Logan said, "You'll have to come over for dinner more when we move since it will be so close."

Their new house was only about twelve blocks from Oliver's aunt's place. He would also be closer to school and the learning center. A CPS social worker met them at his aunt's to get some final paperwork signed. She thanked Veronica for taking temporary custody of Oliver, something she had only been able to do because of signing up as an emergency foster parent through a program they had done at her office.

Oliver's aunt, Jessica, was very nice and grateful as well. She had explained to Veronica that the reason she had seen so little of Oliver had to do with his father not wanting her around. She was thrilled to have him living with her though. By dinnertime, they had Oliver completely settled and had said goodbye.

On the drive home, Logan said, "It'll be weird to have it be just us and Taser again."

"Definitely," Veronica agreed. "Want to stop for dinner after we return the car?"

"Sure," Logan agreed.

* * *

Monday, sitting in the realtor's office, Veronica couldn't remember ever being so nervous. She had a strong desire to tell Logan she changed her mind, but she knew where the nerves were coming from. Unlike every other time, she reminded herself that the fear was temporary and her love for Logan was not. She watched as he signed the last document.

"Payment looks good," the realtor said. "Here you go." He held out the keys to them.

Logan took the keys and smiled at Veronica, who couldn't help but grin back. As they walked out of the office, Veronica realized all her trepidation about the house had vanished. She had found that happened often with things she was nervous about concerning Logan and her relationship. "Logan," she said, as they walked toward the car, "I changed my mind."

"About what?" he asked.

"Staying at the house tonight. I want to even if we won't have any furniture."

Logan smiled. He had been arguing for them to spend the night at the new house as soon as they had the keys, but Veronica had resisted. "Okay," he replied. "I'm going to drop you at the apartment then and go and get some provisions."

"What kind of provisions?" she asked.

"You'll see," Logan replied. "I'll be back to pick you and Taser up in a while." As Veronica began to climb from the car, he added, "Throw some of my stuff in a bag for me?"

"Of course," she replied. "Call me, and I'll meet you down here."


	36. Chapter 36

By the time Veronica got a call from Logan to meet him down stairs in 5 minutes, it had been almost an hour. "What took you so long?" she asked.

"I returned the car," he said. "I figured we could walk. It is only about fifteen minutes."

"Okay," she replied. "Here, you can carry this then." She handed him the bag in which she had tossed their overnight stuff.

"No problem," he replied taking the bag with a smile. They walked leisurely toward their new home. At some point in their walk, Logan placed an arm around Veronica's shoulder, and she rested her head on his.

When they reached the house, Veronica raced up the stairs with Taser, who seemed to sense that something different was happening. "Hold on a minute," Logan said as Veronica unlocked and opened the front door. "I have a surprise for you."

"Really?" she asked, stopping in the entryway.

"Yeah." He bent down and unhooked Taser's leash letting the dog run off to explore the new house. "Come on." Logan took Veronica's hand and led her up the stairs. "Close your eyes," he said once they reached the top. He led her carefully to a bedroom door and opened it. "Open," he said.

"Oh Logan," she said with a grin. He had set up a makeshift bed with an air mattress and had a bottle of champagne cooling in a bucket with ice.

"To toast our next step," he replied. "Should I open it?"

"Definitely," Veronica agreed. "I have a surprise for you too," she added.

"Oh yeah?" he asked as he opened the champagne.

"I took tomorrow off work," she said with a smile.

"That is an excellent surprise," Logan said pressing a glass of champagne into her hand. He held his glass up toward her and said.

Veronica held her glass up in turn and said, "To our new house."

"To our new house," Logan agreed clinking his glass to hers. After they sipped their champagne, Logan took her glass from her and placed it on the floor by the mattress. At her questioning look, he just smirked before grabbing her around the waist and falling onto the mattress bringing her with him.

She laughed aloud and rolled over so she was mostly on top of him. "This is good," she said decidedly.

"What is?" Logan asked kissing her forehead, just above one eye.

"Our house," she said. "Our life." Logan smiled at her and continued to kiss her. Just then there was a thump against the bed. They both looked down and saw Taser attempting to climb on the air mattress. They both laughed and Veronica leaned down to help him up. She lied back against Logan while Taser nuzzled next to her. They stayed like that in silence. She rubbed Taser's ears while Logan ran his hand along her arm. "You know what Logan?" she asked.

"Hmm?" he replied relaxed.

"I'm happy." For most people, that wouldn't have been much of a revelation, but Veronica had spent most of her life believing true happiness would always elude her.

"I'm glad," he replied kissing the top of her head. "I am too."

* * *

Moving didn't take as long as Logan or Veronica had expected, mainly because they had hired movers. Unpacking was an entirely different story. Veronica was still digging through boxes for things as she packed her bag to go to Neptune for Thanksgiving. "Logan?" she called. "Where is the box with my travel stuff in it?"

"How on earth would I know that?" he called back up the stairs from where he was trying to find all the stuff they would need for the dog. "Did you try the boxes in the bathroom?"

"Yes!" she hollered in exasperation. "Ugh," she groaned. "Whatever, I'm bringing a full sized bottle of shampoo then. We aren't flying. I don't have to stay within the 3.4 ounces."

"That is fine," Logan said. "Can you check if Taser's leash is in the office? I think I might have left it there after our walk last night."

By the time they made it out the door, it was an hour later than they had planned. The rental car trunk was full, and Taser was lounging in the backseat, taking up all the space. By the time they made it to Neptune, they were both exhausted. Only Taser seemed to have any energy.

Linda had ushered them into the house to feed them, but Logan had asked if he could shower first. Veronica sat in the kitchen talking to Linda while she cooked. "I was surprised when your father told me you wanted to come down here," Linda said. "I would have thought you and Logan might have wanted to host Thanksgiving again. This time in the new house."

"I might have if we had moved earlier," Veronica replied. "The place is still a disaster. Boxes everywhere, you know."

Linda smiled and nodded. "That is understandable. You're very busy."

"Yeah," Veronica replied. "If it was left to me, everything would probably still be in boxes. Logan has unpacked most of it." She laughed to herself. "I just realized how funny that is. It took him forever to unpack when he first moved to San Francisco."

"That doesn't surprise me," Linda stated. "He is probably doing it for you now, not for himself."

Veronica smiled and reached to the ring hanging around her neck. She noticed Linda's eyes follow her hand and land on the ring. Quickly, she let go of it so it fell back behind the fabric of her shirt. Linda began to open her mouth in question, but she stopped herself as Logan entered the kitchen.

"Oh good," Linda said. "You two must be starving." She set a plate in front of each of them at the kitchen island as Logan sat down next to Veronica.

"Did you and Keith already eat?" Logan asked digging into the food on the plate.

"Oh yes. Hours ago," Linda replied. "You know how he can be when he is hungry," she added with a smirk at Veronica.

"What are you saying about me?" Keith asked coming inside from the garage where he had been moving things to the extra fridge for Linda.

"Nothing Papa," Veronica replied with a smile.

Keith washed dishes, and he and Linda talked with Veronica and Logan while they ate. Afterward, they retired to the living room and relaxed. Eventually, Logan said, "I should take Taser out before bed."

"I'll join you," Keith said.

"What was that about?" Veronica asked as the men went outside.

"No idea," Linda replied with a shurg. She looked at Veronica curiously.

"Go ahead and ask," Veronica said. "I know you've been wanting to?"

Linda laughed. "So the ring?" she asked.

"Logan purposed to me when we went away for our anniversary," she said.

"Wow," Linda said. "That was months ago."

"I know," Veronica replied. "I said no."

"I assumed if you had said yes, we would have heard about it sooner," Linda replied. "So what's the deal with the ring?"

"He asked me to wear it like this. He thought maybe I could move it to my finger if I'm ever ready."

Linda was nodding. "Do you think you will?" she asked.

"I really am not sure," Veronica replied. She reached for the ring again. "I find I do this a lot." She looked down in silence. Looking up again, she added, "Especially when I am thinking about something sweet he has done." Linda just nodded again, and Veronica was glad she wasn't pushing the topic.

* * *

Logan and Keith were walking around the block. They had turned the first corner in silence. Then finally Keith said, "Logan, I need your advice."

Logan was surprised. He still had the instinct that when Keith wanted to talk to him it was because he had done something wrong. "About what?"

"Veronica," Keith began. "Do you remember last year when you asked me about her mother?"

"Yeah," Logan replied.

"Well, Lianne contacted me a few weeks ago. She wants to see Veronica. I haven't known how to bring it up to her," Keith replied with a sigh.

Logan sighed in return. "Keith, I don't know. You're her father you know what is best for her."

"Not always," Keith admitted. "I never thought you would be. Yet, here we are, and I've never seen her happier."

Logan smiled. "I appreciate you saying that. I still don't know what to tell you. I guess the best thing would be to tell her, and let her make the choice herself." He and Keith stopped in front of the house. "She always has liked to make her own mind up."

"I just don't know if I can tell her," Keith admitted. "It was hard enough on me to get the phone call."

"Would you like me to talk to her about it?" Logan asked. "I'm more removed from the situation."

"I'd really appreciate that Logan. Thanks."

* * *

That night, Logan sat nervously on the edge of the bed while Veronica was changing into her pajamas. "What's up with you?" she asked. "You've been weird since you and my dad came back from the walk. Did he say something to you?"

"Nothing like what you're thinking," Logan replied. "There is something I need to tell you though."

"What's that?" Veronica asked. When Logan didn't say anything, she turned and looked at him. "Logan what?"

"Here sit down." He took her hands and tugged her down so she was sitting on the bed facing him.

She crossed her legs underneath herself and said, "Logan please. You're scaring me."

"So your dad asked me to talk to you about this," Logan began. "He didn't know how to tell you."

Veronica relaxed a bit as this comment relieved a number of her concerns, but almost as quickly, she tensed again as an equal number of new hypotheticals filled her mind. "Just tell me Logan. Pull the Band-Aid off."

"Okay," he said. "Your mom wants to see you."

Veronica stared at him in silence. She didn't seem able to process the information. She honestly hadn't thought she would ever hear from her mother again. She looked down at the bed and drew her finger over the design on the comforter. "Veronica?" Logan whispered.

"I just…" she began. "Where? When?"

"She called your dad a couple weeks ago. She is in the LA area," Logan explained what Keith had told him. "Veronica," he said slowly when she still hadn't looked up. "You don't have to see her."

"Can we just go to bed?" Veronica asked. "I need to think about all this."

"Of course," Logan said. He scooted back on the bed and pulled the covers down on Veronica's side. "Here crawl in," he said. She did. He pulled the blankets down on his own side and joined her. He adjusted the pillow and reached over to turn off the light. As he lay down in the bed, Veronica scooted over and into the nook between his arm and his body and rested her head on his shoulder.

As Logan wrapped an arm around her, she murmured, "Thank you."

"Of course," Logan replied. Kissing the top of her head, he added, "I love you."

"Me too," she replied.

* * *

The next morning, Veronica and Logan both got up early to help Linda with Thanksgiving dinner preparations. After helping for a while, Logan took Taser for a walk while Veronica helped Linda with a couple last dishes.

When Logan came back in, he checked the kitchen for Veronica, but Linda and Keith were sitting at the kitchen table alone talking over a cup of coffee. Logan turned and went upstairs to the guest room. It was empty. Eventually, he found Veronica sitting on the steps of the back porch. "Hey," he said sitting down next to her.

"Hey," she replied.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Thinking," she stated, petting Taser's head as he pushed his way between Logan and her.

"About your mom?" he asked. She nodded. "What have you been thinking?"

"Would you go with me?" Veronica asked.

"Of course, if you want me to," Logan replied. "So you've decided to see her?"

"At first, I thought I wouldn't be able to do it, but if you are with me, I think I'll be fine. Are you sure you don't mind?"

"Why would I mind?" Logan asked. "Veronica, I'll always be there for you."

"Thanks," she replied. Logan smiled. "What?" Veronica asked.

Logan seemed reluctant to answer. When Veronica looked at him pointedly, he finally said, "I just like it that you feel comfortable relying on me." Veronica smiled at him cautiously. "So when do you think you want to do this?"

"Tomorrow or Saturday I think," she replied. "I'll talk to my dad about it tonight. I guess I'd rather go tomorrow than on the drive home Saturday." Logan nodded. "Can we just sit here for a moment?" she asked. Logan nodded again.

* * *

After they had eaten Thanksgiving dinner, Veronica sat down with Keith. Logan was helping Linda deal with dishes. "Logan talked to me," Veronica said as she sat down on the couch.

"Sweetheart, I'm sorry I didn't talk to you about it myself," Keith said. "I just…"

"I understand Dad," Veronica replied. "I decided I would call her and set up a time to meet for tomorrow if she can do that."

"Are you sure?" Keith asked. "You don't have to see her."

"I'm sure," Veronica said. "Logan said he would go with me." She sighed. "I figured I don't have to stay too long if things get weird."

"True," Keith agreed.

"I guess I need the number to call her," Veronica said.

"I'll grab it." Keith got up and walked to his desk. He came back with a scrap of paper with a number scrawled on it.

"I guess I might as well do this now," Veronica said. "I'm going to go upstairs to call."

"Okay," Keith replied. "We'll be in the kitchen if you need anything."

Keith walked into the kitchen as Veronica went upstairs. "Veronica's calling her mother now," he said. Looking at Logan, he added, "You might want to check on her in a bit."

"You sure you don't want to?" Logan asked.

Keith looked sad. "No, I think you should," he stated. Logan looked at him questioningly but didn't push the matter.

After a few minutes, he went upstairs and listened at the guest room door. He entered slowly when he didn't hear anything. "Hey," he said.

Veronica was sitting on the end of the bed staring ahead of her. She turned at the sound of his voice. "Hey," she replied. She was chewing on her bottom lip.

"How'd it go?" he asked sitting next to her.

"Adequately," she replied. "Honestly, I couldn't really tell you. I told her I could meet her tomorrow. She said that would work for her, and we agreed to meet at a Starbucks near where she is living." She handed Logan a piece of paper. "That is the intersection. We are supposed to be there at two."

"Does she know I'm coming?" Logan asked.

"No," Veronica replied. "I didn't really want to get in to all that."

"I understand," Logan replied wrapping his arm around Veronica's shoulder as they sat in silence.


	37. Chapter 37

"Logan, I don't think I can do this," Veronica said, her voice shaking. She looked at him in terror from the passenger seat of the car.

"Of course you can Veronica," he replied. "You are the bravest person I have ever known." He leaned over and kissed her. "Besides, I am right here." She nodded and got out of the car. Logan walked around the front of the car and grabbed Veronica's hand giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Here it goes," Veronica replied. "I don't know why I am so nervous. She's my mother after all."

"You're scared?" Logan asked rhetorically. "Afraid you'll get hurt again."

Veronica nodded. "Yeah," she said, "but she can only hurt me if I let her."

"That's my girl," Logan said supportively leaning over and kissing Veronica's cheek. "Ready?"

"Ready," she said firmly as Logan opened the door to the coffee shop. Veronica glanced around nervously. "There she is," she said nodding to a table in the corner where her mother sat. Lianne waved to her.

"Want me to come over right away?" Logan asked. "Or, I could order us some coffee first."

"Maybe you should get us drinks, and I can greet her first," Veronica said.

Logan nodded and began to let go of Veronica's hand. When she didn't release it, he said, "You have to let go of me first."

"I know," she said taking a deep breath. She squeezed his hand before releasing it. She walked cautiously toward her mother. "Hello," she greeted formally and stiffly.

"Hi darling," Lianne said standing and offering Veronica a hug. Veronica unconsciously stiffened. She felt bad but couldn't help it. "Was that your boyfriend or…?"

"Yeah, my boyfriend," Veronica replied sitting down opposite her mother at the table.

"He looked familiar, but I didn't get a very good look at him just now," Lianne said questioningly.

"It's Logan, Mom," Veronica said. "He spent enough time at our house that I'm sure you remember him."

"Lilly's Logan?" Lianne asked.

Veronica bristled. Something about Logan being referred to that way bothered her. "We dated a bit in high school and college," she explained. "Then we got back together over a year ago."

"He always seemed to be a troubled boy, but I guess people can change," Lianne replied.

"If Dad doesn't have a problem with him, I really don't think you are in a place to talk," Veronica snapped.

"You're right," Lianne agreed. "Are you happy?"

"I love him, and he loves me. He proposed to me this summer." Veronica glanced at where Logan stood patiently waiting for their drinks. "He didn't even have to ask what I wanted to drink," she said quietly. "I think that means something."

Lianne nodded slowly. "You're getting married?" she asked.

Veronica bit her lip and shook her head. "Not yet," she said. "It seems I'm a bit screwed up in that arena." She hadn't realized just how much anger she had towards her mother until this conversation began.

"I'm sorry, Veronica," Lianne replied. "I didn't mean to hurt you the way I did."

Veronica studied her mother's face. She saw genuine sorrow there. "I know you didn't, but it did still hurt."

"Will you tell me about the rest of your life?" Lianne asked. "I have wondered everyday for the past ten years."

"I went to Hearst for college," Veronica began as Logan walked toward them.

"Hi Mrs. Mars," he greeted Lianne. "Can I still call you that?" he asked realizing she might have changed her name.

"That's fine Logan," Lianne said shaking his hand. "It is nice to see you again."

"You too," Logan said. He grabbed a chair from the next table and sat down, setting Veronicas drink in front of her. "Don't let me interrupt," he said. He took Veronica's hand under the table and squeezed it gently.

"So college," Lianne said. "What did you major in?"

"Criminal Justice," Veronica replied. She stopped talking and took a sip of her coffee. She was feeling a bit shaky.

"Logan, how about you?" Lianne asked, trying to give her daughter a moment.

"Creative writing," he replied. "I'm an author."

"You didn't follow in your parent's footsteps then," Lianne replied.

"No," Logan replied concisely. "It wasn't of interest to me."

"So how about after college?" Lianne asked Veronica.

"I was accepted to the FBI academy," Veronica answered. "I've worked as an FBI agent for five years now."

"That is wonderful. Your father must be very proud," Lianne replied. "So you two have been together over a year now. Where are you living?"

"We just bought a house together in San Francisco," Logan replied. Veronica smiled at him quickly.

"We have a dog too," she added. Talking about their life made her realize how happy she really was with Logan.

They talked for another thirty minutes, including Lianne filling Veronica in a bit on her life. Eventually, Veronica said they should probably leave in order to get back to Neptune before it was too late. Lianne said goodbye to them and hugged Veronica. She told her she hoped they could stay in touch.

As she and Logan drove back to Neptune, Veronica fiddled nervously with a button on her jacket. "How are you feeling?" Logan asked placing a hand on her knee.

She placed her hand on top of his. "Um," she said. "I guess okay. It was weird. I mean she's my mom, but I hadn't seen her in ten years. It just felt like she was some other version of her."

"Yeah?" Logan asked. He wasn't quite sure what Veronica was getting at, but he didn't want to push her to explain.

She did anyway. "Like I have this picture of my mom before she left the first time. That is the woman I think of as my mother. Then there is the second version, the one who left again. This was like a whole other version. It didn't even feel like she was really my mother."

"That makes sense," Logan said.

"I felt like I was filling a stranger in on my life," Veronica said.

"Do you think you will stay in touch with her?" Logan asked.

"Honestly," Veronica replied. "I don't know. Part of me wants to, wants to have a mother again. Another part of me knows, she will never be that woman again to me." She sighed. "It seems like it might be easier to just cut and run." She paused a moment. "She did," she added with finality.

Logan heard the crack in Veronica's voice and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. He didn't overlook the tear that escaped and ran down her cheek. He pulled the car off the side of the highway. There was a turn out, where you could see the ocean. He put the car in park. "What are you doing?" Veronica asked surprised.

"It is okay to cry," Logan said reaching out and rubbing her shoulder with his hand.

"I'm fine," she said casually. He just looked at her. Suddenly, she felt herself break under his gaze. Tears instantly began to stream down her face.

Logan thanked god for Veronica's petite frame as he unbuckled her seatbelt and pulled her over the console and into his lap. He enveloped her in his arms. When she finally stopped crying she looked at his shirt. "I got your shirt all wet," she said quietly.

"It'll dry," he responded simply. "Do you feel better?"

She nodded and scooted back to her side of the car. After a moment of silence, she asked, "Logan, do you think I'm like her?"

"You're mother?" he asked.

"Yeah. When I was a kid, everyone compared me to her. They would say how like Lianne I was. I mean, people compare me to my dad more now, but is that just because she left?"

"I think you're like her in some ways," he replied. "I remember when we were kids your mom was always really nice to me. I think she knew things were rougher for me at home than I let on. She had great compassion like that," he stated. "You have that too." He smiled at her. "But in other ways, I don't think you're like her at all. You'll do anything for the people you love, but you would never leave them, even if you thought it was to keep them safe. You would find another way. You have too much, I don't know, dedication I guess."

"Yeah?" she asked. "Even after…" She was going to ask about the number of times she had essentially left him.

"Yes," he said firmly cutting her off. "I think you are more like Keith. Strong willed and loyal, almost to a fault. You'd sacrifice yourself for those you love even when they wouldn't want you to. You have this crazy drive for the truth. And an amazing capacity for love, even if you don't want to admit it sometimes."

"I wish I saw me like you do," Veronica whispered to him.

"That's what love is isn't it?" Logan asked. "Seeing someone better than they see themselves?"

"That's a nice way to think about it," she replied. "I was never that good at doing that for you, I don't think."

"You are now," Logan said. He paused for a moment. "Do you think I'm like either of my parents?" He realized it was something he always wondered about. He so often only thought about the bad in his family.

"Yes. Both of them in ways," Veronica said. At the look on Logan's face, she added, "but very unlike them in others."

"You have that intense passion, which I saw in your father too. You just direct it in much better ways than he did. Your mom was an amazing person. She just…" Veronica trailed off, unsure how to word what she wanted to say about Lynn.

"Wasn't very strong," Logan finished for her.

"Yeah," she agreed. "But she loved you so fiercely. You do that. Sometimes the ease with which you seem to love me scares me," Veronica admitted. "I think you got that from her. That ability to love."

Logan smiled at her slowly. "Wow," he said softly. "You definitely see better in me than I do in myself. Do you really believe all that?"

"Of course," she replied. She fell into silence, thinking again about her mother. "Logan, do you ever worry that I'll run away like she did?" she asked.

"Like Lianne did?" he asked. "No."

"Why not?" she asked.

"Because I need you and you know it," Logan replied with a smile. "And admit it or not, you need me." His smile transformed into a smirk.

"I'll admit it," she said with a laugh. "I'm not scared to admit that anymore."

"Good," Logan said leaning over and kissing her.

* * *

Logan was in his office one evening when Veronica came home from work. He looked up from his computer when Taser noticed her standing in the doorway of the office and, jumping up from his dog bed, bounded over to her. "So," she said leaning against the doorframe. "I got an interesting offer today."

"Really?" Logan asked as Veronica moved into the room.

"You know Mandy, the woman who owns that art studio by my old apartment?" she questioned, sitting down on the edge of Logan's desk. He nodded. "She wants to put up a couple of my photographs," Veronica explained.

"Wow," Logan replied. "That's great Veronica." She sighed slightly. "Is it not great?" Logan asked.

"I haven't done much with my photography since college other than messing around on weekends and when I go places," she explained. "I don't know that I deserve this."

"Of course you do," Logan said encouragingly. "You take beautiful photographs."

Veronica smiled at him. "You have to say that," she stated.

"I don't have to," Logan replied. "I am saying it because it is the truth. You're going to do it right?"

"Yeah, I think so," Veronica replied. "I don't see any harm in it."

"Good," Logan said pulling her into his lap.

"I heard from my dad today," she said changing the subject.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"They'll be here the evening of the twenty-third," she said.

Veronica and Logan had decided to host Christmas now that they were settled into the new house. Her father and Linda were coming up. Mac's parents had decided to take a cruise, so she and Kevin were coming over as well. Oliver was also coming over for part of the day.

"That sounds good," Logan replied. "Turns out the publishing house holiday party is the same day as the Bureau's," he stated. "Do you know which you'd rather go to?"

"I guess the FBI party," she said. "We'll know more people. Last year the publishing house's party was huge."

"Sounds good to me," Logan agreed. "Next week I said I'd help at the Winter Carnival the Learning Center is putting on for the kids," he added. "You can come if you want, but you don't have to."

"I'll come," Veronica said. "I liked the Halloween Dance. Well up until… you know." She stood up from his lap.

"Yeah," Logan agreed, following her into the bedroom, where she began to change out of her work clothes.

"What does this carnival entail?" she asked pulling on a sweatshirt.

"Games and stuff I gather," Logan replied sitting on the edge of the bed. He grabbed Veronica's hand when she began to walk past him and pulled her to him. "We've got quite a busy holiday season," he said.

"We do," she replied leaning in when he moved to kiss her.


	38. Chapter 38

"So if you two would just run this booth that would be great," Henry said looking around frantically. "There are prizes in the box. The kids get a prize for every balloon they pop. Don't blow the balloons up too much, or they are too easy to pop."

"Got it," Logan said. "Don't worry; we're good here. You must have a lot to check on."

"Thanks," Henry said hurrying to the other end of the hallway of the Learning Center.

Veronica laughed once he was gone. "So that's Henry. He seems… stressed."

"He isn't always that abrupt, but he is a little odd," Logan agreed. "So you think we can manage this one?" He nodded to the booth.

"As long as none of the kids have really bad aim and impale anyone with those darts," she replied. She began to dig through the box of prizes. "Definitely not a Neptune High carnival," she said glancing around at the homemade booths and simple carnival games.

"No kidding," Logan agreed. "It's funny how normal that all seemed."

"What do you mean?" Veronica asked boosting herself up to sit on the edge of the table at the booth they were running.

"Neptune," Logan stated. "That life, the wealth, it was all I'd ever known, so it just seemed so normal."

Veronica looked at him slightly puzzled before it occurred to her how much Logan's attitude about wealth had changed. She'd barely registered it in the past year and a half. It was probably because there had been so much time between them seeing each other, but now that he drew her attention to it, she realized the shift. He didn't take his wealth for granted as some kind of birthright or expect people to treat him differently because of it like he had when they were young. "What changed?" she asked curiously.

"I guess seeing the world," he said sitting next to her. "After college when I left California, I did my best to escape the shadow of my family. In the process, I think I realized that that lifestyle was the thing tying me to it." He smiled at her as she placed her hand on his knee. "Don't get me wrong. I still like having money, and it definitely helps with indulging in my somewhat frivolous career path, but… I don't feel like living the way my parents did."

"I've noticed, and I'm glad," Veronica replied leaning over and kissing his cheek briefly. "We should get ready. It looks like the kids are coming in." She nodded in the direction of a few groups of teenagers milling around.

Within thirty minutes the hallways of the learning center were packed with kids playing games, eating junk food, and generally enjoying themselves. The past ten minutes had Veronica and Logan surrounded by a group of girls from the writing program and some of their friends. The girls who knew him had eagerly introduced their friends to the "cute writer from their program," as Veronica heard one of the girls call Logan when he was out of earshot.

After the group of girls had finally wandered off once they had used up their excuse of playing the game, Veronica smirked at Logan. "It's so funny that you are that guy," she said.

"What guy?" he asked puzzled.

"The teacher all the girls have a crush on," she said.

"Well technically, I'm not a teacher," Logan replied with a grin. "So did you ever have a crush on a teacher?" he asked.

"No," she replied with a shake of her head. At Logan's pressing look, she added, "Well maybe in college."

"When we were together?" he asked.

She laughed as she handed a handful of darts to a kid in exchange for some tickets. "No," she replied with a shy smile. "Sophomore year." She handed the boy the box to sift through prizes for the balloons he had popped. "Here you go," she said.

"Thanks," the boy replied with a smile at her before walking away.

"Looks like I'm not the only one with admirers," Logan said wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Logan," she chided. "The kids."

"It's just Oliver," Logan said as the boy approached their booth. "He knows about being crazy about a girl. Right kid?" Logan asked.

Oliver laughed. "Sure," he replied. "Plus I've seen worse out of the two of you."

"Not the point," Veronica said shedding Logan's arms. "There are other impressionable youths around."

"Fine," Logan replied. "I have self control."

"All evidence to the contrary," Veronica whispered walking past him to hand Oliver some darts.

"Here's your chance to impress that girl," Logan said just before Rachel walked up to the booth too.

"Hi Oliver," she said. She smiled at Logan and Veronica. "Hi," she said. "Are you going to play?" she asked Oliver.

"Yeah," he replied. Oliver took a deep breath and threw the darts hitting two of the balloon.

"Nice job," Logan said handing him the box of prizes to pick through.

"Do you want to pick one out?" Oliver asked Rachel shyly.

"Sure," she replied. "Thanks, that's sweet."

Oliver grinned at Logan who winked at him. Rachel and Oliver hung around a couple minutes longer talking to Logan and Veronica before Rachel said, "I want some popcorn. Do you want to come with me Oliver?" The boy nodded eagerly and followed her.

"Man, I remember that feeling," Logan replied. "He is so nervous."

"You?" Veronica asked skeptically. "You were never nervous with girls in high school. Maybe when we were like twelve, but I doubt even then."

Logan was helping some other kids who were playing the game. When they left, he turned to her and said, "Well you know, there was this one girl. She made me plenty nervous." He grinned when Veronica blushed slightly.

About an hour into the carnival, Henry came back by and relieved Veronica and Logan for a while. "Go ahead and walk around, play some of the games if you want," he said.

"Want a soda or something?" Logan asked Veronica as they walked past the snack booth.

"I'm fine," she replied. "Want to play a game?"

"Sure," Logan replied with a twinkle in his eyes. "I've got something in mind." He led her to the end of the hallway to the ring toss. Veronica laughed as Logan attempted with varying success to get a ring over a stuffed prize. When he was finally successful, he turned to her with a victorious look on his face.

"Well done," she said with a smile.

The man running the booth handed Logan the prize, which he in turn offered to Veronica. "Here," he said with a grin. "I know it is about a decade late." Veronica gave him a puzzled look but took the stuffed bear he offered her. "Remember," he whispered in her ear. "I wuv you _beary _much."

A smiled grew on Veronica's face. "I did say I wanted my bear won," she said. "I nearly forgot."

"I think we've mastered the normal thing pretty well," Logan stated wrapping and arm around her and leading her back to the booth they were manning for the night.

During the cab ride home from the carnival, Veronica studied the bear in her hands. "We've come a long ways," she said quietly.

"We certainly have," Logan agreed. Veronica leaned her head on his shoulder.

* * *

"So I got an odd phone call while you were at work today," Logan said as he and Veronica were changing for the FBI's holiday party.

"From whom?" she asked, turning her back to him. "Zip?" she asked.

"Well that was the odd part," he said zipping her dress, but not after dropping a kiss to her shoulder. "It was Trina."

"Really?" Veronica asked turning around. "When was the last time you heard from her?"

"Over three years ago," he replied. "I was in London still. She called to tell me I was an uncle."

"How did I not know that?" Veronica asked. "That you have a…"

"Niece, Kensley," Logan finished. "Because I've never met her. I don't know. Sorry," he added. "I don't think much about Trina as family. She kind of… you know just disappeared after my dad…"

"It's fine Logan," Veronica replied. Reassuringly, she moved to adjust his tie. "But she is your family."

"You're my family," Logan admitted somewhat abruptly.

Veronica's lip twitched into a smile. "What did Trina want?" she asked shifting the conversation.

"Well, she wants to come visit," he said. "For Christmas." He sighed and sat down on the bed. "I'm sure there is a catch; I just don't know what it is yet."

"Maybe she just wants to see you," Veronica replied. "You are her brother."

Logan shrugged. "Maybe. She got divorced earlier this year. She could be lonely. She's never done well alone."

"You want to have her for Christmas?" Veronica asked. She sat next to him and began to pull on her nylons.

"We have plans," Logan replied. "And it's Trina, so there will be drama."

"True," Veronica agreed, "but you do have a niece you could meet for the first time."

Logan nodded. "You wouldn't mind?" he asked. "I know you've never really cared for Trina."

"It's fine. She is a bit, well, manipulative, but like I said, she is your family," she stated. "I think you should invite her. Though, I don't think we have room at the house. Somehow, I don't think Trina would be happy on the blowup in your office," she added. "I guess we could sleep in there though."

"No," Logan responded. "I'm sure that she would rather stay somewhere with a concierge and room service." He sighed. "I'll call her tomorrow and invite her to join us."

Veronica nodded. "Good," she replied. "We should get going," she added.

"Veronica?" Logan asked as they walked out of the bedroom.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"Will you help me buy Kensley some gifts?" he asked. "I don't know what to buy a three year old girl."

"I don't know how much more I know," Veronica admitted. "But, Logan, of course I will."

"Thanks," he replied. She realized the thank you was for much more than helping with the gift.

* * *

The FBI holiday party was low key compared to the one they had attended for the publishing house they year before, but Logan had to admit Veronica was right. It was nice knowing more people there, less of a display.

They spent most of their night talking to Leslie, Jack, Juliana and Mike. They danced and drank some. During one of their dances toward the end of the night when Logan had pulled her close to him on the dance floor, Veronica gazed up at him. "You're my family too," she whispered quietly. "You and my dad and Linda. I didn't say it before, but…"

Logan leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead, then her cheek. "I know," he whispered. He ran a hand over her hair and tucked a strand behind her ear. Gently, he ran his finger along the chain around her neck until it reached the ring that dangled there. Then he returned his hand to her waist. He didn't want to pressure her, but he wanted to remind her that he had offered a definition of family that everyone would acknowledge, that meant something to someone other than them.

"Yeah," she whispered as if reading his mind. He kissed her cheek again as the song ended.

* * *

"So I just got off the phone with Trina," Logan said coming into the kitchen. He had been working in his office that afternoon trying to get going on another novel.

"Are they coming?" Veronica asked turning away from the vegetables she was cutting up for dinner.

"Yeah," he replied. "I was right; she wants to stay at a hotel. I think she said something about the Ritz Carlton or Mark Hopkins. Oh, and she is bringing the nanny."

"That's fine," Veronica said.

"Yeah, God forbid someone in my family actually take care of their own child," Logan replied with a scoff.

"Don't worry," Veronica replied. "We can leave that to you," she added with a wink.

"You've been hinting about children a lot more lately," Logan said. "Anything I should know?"

"Nope," Veronica replied casually. "So when is she coming?"

"Christmas Eve, I gathered," he stated. "I told her we were doing brunch here that morning. She said they would come over for that, though she did seem a little shocked when I said it wasn't being catered."

Veronica laughed. "She may be a little shocked about the life you've decided to lead," she said.

"I guess. Can those save?" Logan asked motioning to the veggies on the cutting board.

"Sure, why?" she questioned.

"I have a surprise and I thought we could go get dinner first," Logan stated.

"What's the surprise?" Veronica asked.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise," Logan responded. "Grab your coat. Let's get dinner."

"Where?" Veronica asked, hoping for any bit of information she could get out of him.

"Wherever you want," he replied. "Just pick somewhere nearby."

"Italian," she said confidently.

They ate dinner at one of their favorite neighborhood restaurants, and as they were leaving, Veronica asked, "So what next?"

"You really don't understand the concept of a surprise do you?" Logan asked.

"Hmph," Veronica snorted, pulling her scarf closer around her neck as a breeze picked up. "At least tell me how far we are walking," she said. "I'm cold."

"Not far," Logan said, wrapping an arm around her and rubbing his hand up and down her arm to warm her. "And it is close to the house."

They walked a couple of blocks. When they rounded the corner, Veronica noticed the Christmas tree lot across the street. "A tree?" she asked as Logan began to lead her over.

"Sure," he replied. "We're hosting Christmas this year. We need to pick out an awesome tree for our first Christmas living together.

Veronica grinned at him. "Pretty good surprise," she said. "Do I get to pick out the tree?"

"As long as it is something I am capable of carrying up the stairs to the front door," Logan replied.

"I think I can manage to keep it to something we can carry," she replied.

They wandered around the tree lot hand in hand until Veronica decisively stated, "That is the tree."

"You're sure?" Logan asked.

"Definitely," she replied. "It's perfect. It'll look good by the front window."

"Okay," he responded with a nod. Walking to a young man working in the lot, he said, "We'd like that tree over there."

"It's $50," the man responded. "I can take checks and cash, or you can go up front and pay with a card."

"Here," Logan replied handing him a $50 bill.

"You need help with the tree?" the man asked.

"We can get it," Logan said with a smile at Veronica. He grabbed the tree somewhat awkwardly.

"Try laying it on it's side," she suggested.

"I've got it," Logan replied tipping the tree so he could grab a sturdy branch by the base of the tree. "Can you get that end?" he asked.

"Sure," she replied. She grasped the tree near the top, grateful for her gloves.

After a couple of struggles with the tree, they reached their house and made it up the stairs. Veronica dug for her keys while Logan balanced the tree upright. Once she had the door open, he moved the tree inside. "So by the window?" he asked.

She nodded. "We don't have a tree stand," she said somewhat concerned.

"You think I'd be that unprepared?" he asked. "In the front closet. In fact, would you grab it for me before I break the window by dropping this thing?"

Veronica laughed as she hurried to the closet and returned with the new tree stand. They spent the rest of the evening getting the tree positioned correctly and wrapping it with some lights Logan had the foresight to buy. A couple hours later Veronica was lying on the floor with her head resting on Logan's lap while he leaned against the couch. She was staring at the tree with its white lights gleaming. Taser was sniffing the tree. "Don't get any ideas there, buddy," Logan said to the dog.

"It's beautiful Logan," Veronica whispered. "It just needs some ornaments."

"Here," he said handing her a small box.

Veronica sat up and took the box. "An ornament?" she asked.

"Yeah," Logan replied.

Veronica opened the box. Inside was a glass bauble with what she assumed were hand painted trees on a snowy scene complete with glitter on the snow. "Wow," she breathed.

"It was handed down from my mom's family. It actually survived the fire," he breathed out as Veronica leaned against him admiring the ornament. "I had actually forgotten about it until we began planning for Christmas this year."

"It's just gorgeous," she stated. "Do you want to put it on?" she asked.

He nodded. "Together?" he asked. Veronica stood up and held her arm out pulling him up. Together they walked to the tree.

"Our first ornament," she said with a smile. "Where should it go?"

Logan took her hand in his. "Here?" he asked moving her hand to an open space between two branches in the middle of the tree. Veronica placed the ornament in the space and leaned back into Logan's chest while he wrapped his arms around her from behind.


	39. Chapter 39

Veronica hurried into the house the evening before Christmas Eve. "I know, I know," she said running up the stairs. "I'm late."

"We have exactly five minutes before we need to leave for the airport," Logan said with a laughed as he exited his office followed by Taser, who wagged his tail excited at Veronica rubbed behind his ears.

"I missed you too boy," she said to the dog.

"Hey," Logan exclaimed. "What about me?"

"Aww, I missed you too," Veronica said scratching behind his ear as well as she moved to her closet.

"Nice try," Logan said grabbing her around the waist and pulling her into a kiss. "I can't believe you got held up at work," he murmured against her lips. "I wanted to have my way with you before we had a house full of guests."

"Sorry," Veronica muttered as he kissed her cheek. "But you know, justice and all that nonsense got in the way."

"You closed the case?" he asked.

"We did," she said, tossing her jacket and skirt into a laundry bag before pulling on jeans and a sweater. Sitting on the bed, she pulled on a pair of boots.

"Congrats," Logan said pulling her up when she offered him her hand. "Ready?"

"Yeah," she replied linking her fingers through his as he offered his hand. They drove the Zip Car Logan had picked up earlier that day to the airport and met Keith and Linda just outside security.

"Hey Pops," Veronica said throwing her arms around her father. She moved on to Linda who had just released Logan from a hug. Logan, in turn, shook Keith's hand.

"I can't wait to see the new house," Linda said as she took Veronica's arm while they walked out of the airport.

"We were thinking about Chinese delivery for dinner," Logan told Keith and Linda as they walked to the car. "Does that sound okay?"

"Sounds just great," Keith replied.

When they reached the car, Keith and Logan began to load the bags in the trunk while Linda and Veronica climbed into the backseat. "Did you bring them?" Logan asked quietly.

"Of course," Keith replied. "They're in that bag." He pointed to a small suitcase.

Logan grinned at him. "Alright," he said. "Let's go."

Before getting to the house, they stopped to pick up the Chinese food Veronica had ordered from the car when they were leaving the airport. Linda insisted on a tour of the house before they ate. Veronica led her around while Keith and Logan followed. It wasn't that Keith didn't want to tour; he just wasn't as excited about the prospect as Linda.

"This'll be you're room," Veronica explained showing Linda and her father the guest room. "In fact, Logan, honey, why don't you grab their bags from by the door."

"Kay," Logan replied with a smirk. He vanished downstairs while Veronica continued the tour.

"This is the upstairs bathroom," Veronica pointed out. "We have to share."

"That's fine, sweetie," Linda said. "The place is just gorgeous. This is your bedroom?" she asked from the doorway of Logan and Veronica's room.

"Yeah," Veronica said with a nod. "It has a nice view out the window." She led Linda and her father into the room.

They continued the tour as Logan rejoined them. "Bags on the bed," he said. "You can unpack after dinner if you want."

"Thank you Logan," Keith replied.

"We turned the third bedroom into an office for Logan," Veronica explained gesturing to the room with Logan's laptop and papers strewn messily over the desk. "I guess you didn't understand what 'clean up the office we have company coming' meant," she said with smirk at Logan.

"I'll clean tonight," he responded. "I was busy today. Let's eat," he added, wrapping an arm around Veronica as they followed Keith and Linda down the stairs.

They all ate dinner on the couch watching _A Christmas Story_ on TV. After dinner Logan and Veronica were in the kitchen cleaning up the dishes and putting away the leftovers. "Are you done?" he asked tugging at his sleeves and bouncing slightly.

"Why are you anxious?" she asked. "We're just going out to finish the movie."

"Just, come on," Logan said holding his hand out for her to take. He led her back into the living room.

"Honey," Keith said. "There's something under the tree for you to open."

Veronica glanced at the tree where a plain cardboard box sat. "Dad, it's too early for presents," Veronica said. "It's only, you know, Christmas Eve-Eve."

"Actually it's really a present from Logan," Keith said. "Or rather it was his idea. Trust me you want to open it tonight."

Veronica glanced at Logan hesitantly. "Its' not another dog is it?" she asked. "Because you know I love Taser, but one dog is enough for us."

"It's not a dog, just open it," he said. He reached under the tree and passed her the box. Veronica sat down on the floor in front of the couch facing Linda and her father. Logan sat next to her.

"So _who_ is it from?" she asked, glancing between her father and Logan.

"It's from your dad," Logan answered. "I just suggested he bring it."

Veronica opened the box and a grin spread across her face. "Ornaments," she said. "Dad, don't you need these?"

"I kept the ones you made for me and my Padres ornaments," Keith replied. "Between Linda and I, we have enough ornaments." He grinned at his daughter. "Logan called and said your tree was looking a little bare. He suggested I bring you some ornaments."

"Thanks," she said standing up and hugging her father. "You too," she said bending over and kissing Logan's cheek. "Can we decorate now?"

"Yes," Keith replied. "But we need some cocoa. Tell me you have some."

"Complete with your choice of alcoholic additive if you would like," Logan said leading Keith into he kitchen.

"I have something for you too," Linda said crossing to Veronica. She handed her a small box.

"You didn't have to," Veronica said opening the box.

"I know the date is last year, but I thought that made it more accurate. Just because you didn't have a tree last year," Linda explained.

Veronica smiled down at the ornament in the box. It was three silver disks, each one getting progressively larger, layered on top of each other, each with an engraving. The top read "2015", the second "Logan & Veronica", and the bottom "Our First Christmas". One the very top rested a small silver snowflake. "It's beautiful Linda. Thank you," Veronica said as Logan and her father reentered the room. Logan came up behind her and looked and the ornament over her shoulder. He smiled softly and reached around her to hand her her cocoa.

"I put Bailey's in it for you," he whispered into her ear. Turning to Linda he said, "The ornament is lovely, thank you."

They decorated the tree with the ornaments Keith had brought. Some were family ornaments or the traditional Hallmark ones Veronica had received as gifts during her childhood. Many however were handmade, which kept a running line of quips going between Logan and Veronica. After two cups of cocoa and a completely decorated tree, Linda and Keith went to bed. Veronica and Logan, however, were sitting on the floor of their living room staring at their tree. Taser was sleeping by their feet.

"Will you teach me how to make the reindeer out of popsicle sticks for when we have kids?" Logan asked. "I never got to learn that kind of stuff."

Veronica smiled and leaned into his side. She ran her finger along the ring hanging from her neck. "Of course I will," she replied. "And paper chains and snowflakes." He pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek. "I love the lights," she said. "It's beautiful."

"It is," Logan agreed, though he wasn't looking at the tree.

Veronica smiled and sat up. Grabbing his hand, she said, "Come on. If we are quiet you can fulfill you plan of having your way with me before we get caught up in the holiday cheer."

Logan smirked. "Even with your dad in the house?"

"Just be quieter than usual," she retorted.

* * *

Veronica woke a bit before eight on Christmas Eve. She was sleeping on her stomach, one leg entwined with Logan's. She shifted her head and rested it on her arm, so she could watch Logan. He was sleeping on his side facing her, one arm outstretched. It had likely been wrapped around her waist until the moment she shifted to her stomach in her sleep. She smiled at how peaceful he looked. Despite this fact, she leaned in and pressed her lips to his in a gentle kiss. Logan didn't open his eyes, but he deepened the kiss.

"Morning," he greeted.

"We have to make brunch," Veronica said as Logan wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. "Time to get up," she added.

"'Kay," Logan said, though he made no move to release her. Instead, he pulled her in for an impassioned kiss. "Okay," he said. "Now we can get up."

They slipped downstairs quietly when it became clear that Keith and Linda were still asleep. Logan was preparing a frittata while Veronica cut up fruit for a fruit salad. They had stuck some champagne in the fridge for mimosas the night before. Logan had insisted on opening one bottle for them to test the mimosas while they cooked. Once she had finished the fruit, Veronica shifted to make scones, which she hoped would come out of the oven just before they ate, so they would still be warm.

"Kevin and Mac will be here at 9:30," Veronica said. "It sounds like the shower is free. Do you want to go first?"

"How about together?" Logan asked waggling his eyebrows. "Saves time and water."

"Nice try," she replied. "I thought you liked that fact that my dad had warmed up to you. I'll go first." She smirked at him, and he shrugged. "What time did Trina say she was getting here?"

"9:30," Logan answered. "But with Trina that means more like ten."

Veronica leaned in to kiss him and went upstairs for her shower. When Logan heard the water turn off, he slipped into the bathroom to shower himself. He had complained about the single shower when he they had bought the house but now found that he enjoyed the fact that they were forced to get ready in each other's company. While he showered, Veronica dried her hair and put on some makeup.

Logan slipped from the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist, and slid his arms around Veronica's waist from behind. He leaned down and rested his chin on her shoulder. She smiled at him. "I grabbed your clothes," she nodded toward the towel rod with his boxers hanging over the top and a pair of pants and v-neck sweater where hanging from a clothes hanger.

"Thanks," he said releasing her and getting dressed while she finished her makeup and hair. "You're beautiful," he said as she turned to him.

"Not too shabby yourself," she replied with a slight blush. She never had completely adjusted to Logan's constant compliments. She noticed him pulling awkwardly as the cuffs of his sleeves after he had buttoned his shirt. "Are you nervous?" she asked reading his common tell and his facial expression.

"A bit," he replied. "I haven't seen Trina in so long. I just don't know what to expect."

Veronica crossed to him. "Well," she responded, "I'm right here for you." She leaned up and kissed him softly. She held out her hand, which he grasped, threading his fingers through hers.

They went downstairs and found Keith and Linda seated with coffee at the kitchen counter. "Sorry," Veronica said kissing her father's cheek, "we were getting ready. People should be here soon." She glanced at the clock as she poured coffee for herself and for Logan, who was sticking his frittata in the oven.

When they sat down at the table, Linda asked, "So Logan, tell me about your sister."

"Uh," Logan began glancing at Veronica. "Well, honestly Linda, it has been a long time since I have seen her, so anything I share could be grossly out of date."

Linda nodded. "Well, it's nice that she is joining us for the holiday."

At that moment the doorbell rang, Logan stood up and let out a deep breath. He went out into the entryway. Veronica hopped up to add a pitcher of orange juice and a bottle of champagne to the table, which she had already set. Keith and Linda followed her into the dining room. Logan came in from the other doorway followed by Kevin and Mac. "It's just Mac and Kevin," he replied.

"Wow, thanks Logan," Mac replied sarcastically.

"That was relief in his voice," Veronica replied, hugging her friend. "Hey Kev," she added hugging Kevin.

"I'll get you coffee," Logan said vanishing into the kitchen. Mac, Kevin, Keith, and Linda all sat down at the table.

"This looks beautiful Veronica," Mac said. "And the tree doesn't look pathetic." She smirked at her friend.

"My dad brought some ornaments," Veronica replied. Just as she moved to sit down with everyone at the table the doorbell rang again. "I guess I'm getting it this time," she said glancing toward the kitchen door.

Veronica walked to the front door and opened it with a smile. "Veronica," Trina trilled in a tone that sent Veronica back to high school.

"Hi Trina," she replied.

"I can't believe you and my brother are living in cohabitational bliss," Trina said entering the house as Veronica moved out of the doorway to welcome them.

Veronica laughs slightly at Trina's greeting. "You and me both," she replied. Reaching her hand out to shake the hand of a woman, who she assumes is the nanny, Veronica said, "Hi, I'm Veronica."

"Jessie," the young woman replied. "And this is Kensley." She indicates the small girl standing next to her, wearing a blue dress and white tights with her hair in brown curls.

"Hi Kensley," Veronica said kneeling down. "I'm Veronica."

"Hi," the girl replied shyly.

"Come on," Veronica replied. "Let's go inside. You're Uncle Logan is very excited to meet you. I think he might even be making you some super special pancakes right now." The little girl smiled up at Veronica.

Veronica smiled thinking about her conversation with Logan when they had planned the menu for the brunch. _But kids don't like frittata_ he'd said _I'll make pancakes too. She'll like those._ There were a lot of times that Veronica was reminded why she thought Logan would make a good father, despite his terrible example, and that had been a perfect one.

"Logan," she called out as the led everyone into the dining room. "Trina, you remember my father, Keith. And this is his girlfriend Linda, and Logan and my friends, Mac and Kevin." She introduced everyone at the table. "This is Logan's sister Trina, and this is Jessie and Kensley, Logan's niece."

As everyone greeted each other, Logan came out of the kitchen with a plate of scones and the bowl of fruit salad. He paused awkwardly looking at Trina before he set the dishes on the table and approached her. "Hello Trina," he said, standing as close to Veronica as possible.

"Hi Brother," Trina replied. "Don't I even get a hug?"

Logan broke into a smile as his sister acted like the years and distance didn't exist between them. "Sure Trin," he replied wrapping his arms around her. When he released her, he knelt down in front of Kensley. "You must be Kensley," he said. "I'm your uncle, Logan."

"Hi," the girl said with a small smile. "Did you make me pancakes? They're my favowite."

Logan smiled up and Veronica before turning back to the little girl. "I made the batter, but I might need some help decided what shapes to make the pancakes. Do you want to come help?"

"Jessie, can I?" Kensley asked looking at her nanny.

"Ask your mother," Jessie replied diplomatically.

"If you don't mess up your dress," Trina replied.

"Logan, just put my apron on her," Veronica replied. Logan led his niece into the kitchen. Veronica turned to Trina and Jessie. "Coffee?" she asked indicating a pot and cups on the table.

"Thanks," Jessie said pouring herself a cup. "I can go check on Kensley if you would like Trina," she added.

"I'm sure Logan can handle her," Veronica replied.

Trina nodded in agreement. "It's fine Jessie," she added. "I know you wanted to call your family. You could do that now." She turned to Veronica with a smile. "Can I get a tour of the house?"

"Uh, sure," Veronica replied. "Is everyone here okay?"

"Fine and dandy," Mac replied for everyone.

As Veronica led Trina up the stairs for her tour, Trina turned to her pensively. "The house is nice Veronica, but I really wanted to ask how my brother is?"

Veronica stopped by the door to Logan's office and leaned on the doorframe. "Trina, you could ask him," she replied.

"I don't think he'd really tell me. I know he's mad at me even if he won't say it. I know I suck as a sister, but," Trina paused. "I'm alone now, well except for Kensley, and I realized maybe I didn't take the idea of family seriously enough."

"I think maybe you should just share this with Logan," Veronica stated. "I mean, he is a good guy Trina, and you're his sister. He isn't just going to write you off."

"Even though I did that to him?" Trina asked. "I know I wouldn't be here for Christmas if it wasn't for you, Veronica."

"Come on guys," Logan hollered up the stairs. "Brunch is on the table and getting cold. Well, except for the fruit and mimosas, _they _are getting warm.

Veronica smiled. "Well it is Christmas, which is about family, and friends," she said to Trina

"Thanks Veronica," Trina stated. "Logan's lucky to have you."


	40. Chapter 40

Brunch was enjoyable enough. It took everyone awhile to settle into the conditions. Mac, Kevin, Logan, and Veronica had a comfortable rapport, where banter flew easily. Keith's relationship with Veronica eased him and by extension Linda into the flow. Jessie clearly felt out of place, being as she was an employee but wasn't being treated as one by the people around her, aside from her boss. Trina was probably having the hardest time adjusting. She was used to a much more privileged lifestyle and clearly hadn't known how different a life her brother had chosen to lead.

Kensley was blissfully unaware of the slight awkwardness around her as she ate strawberries and the Mickey Mouse shaped pancake Logan had made her. She continued to beam up at her uncle, who she appeared to think hung the moon.

"So how is the hotel, Trina?" Logan asked casually, unsure how to talk to his sister.

"It's acceptable," she replied. "Not the best sheets, but you can't have everything right?"

Veronica bit her lip thinking of some of the hotels she had stayed in over the years. "We were thinking about going to look at some of the Christmas lights tonight," Veronica said. "There is a street a few blocks over that does some knockout lights. Maybe you and Kensley would like to join us?" she asked Trina. Kensley looked up hopefully.

"Actually I made an appointment at the spa for tonight," Trina responded.

"Maybe just Kensley then," Logan replied. He had seen the look on his niece's face. "Jessie could have a few hours off. We can handle the munchkin until for an evening." He glanced at Veronica who smiled.

"Uh, sure," Trina replied. Kensley grinned and dug back into her pancakes. After brunch, Trina, Jessie, and Kensley went back to the hotel, for the little girl to have a nap. The plan was that Jessie would drop her back off with Logan and Veronica before doing some sightseeing that evening, having never been to San Francisco.

Mac and Kevin were hanging around for the day. Logan and Veronica left their guests in the living room, happily talking, while they cleaned up the kitchen.

* * *

At about five that evening, Jessie knocked on the door. Kensley was standing next to her, bundled in a winter coat, scarf, and mittens. Veronica helped the girl out of her outerwear and set a time with Jessie for her to pick Kensley back up. "Whewe's Unc'e Logan?"

"He's upstairs," Veronica replied. "He'll be down in a minute. You can come hang out with me for a bit if you want."

"'kay," the little girl replied taking Veronica's hand.

Mac, Kevin, Linda, and her father were playing a game of cards at the dining room table. Veronica sat on the couch with Hensley. "Are you nervous about being with just us tonight?" Veronica asked amazed at the little girl's comfort.

"No," Hensley replied. "You're nice."

Logan came bounding down the stairs at that moment. "Office is clean," he told Veronica. "Hi munchkin," he greeted Kensley, who giggled.

"Ready to go guys?" Logan asked.

A response in the affirmative came from the dining room. Everyone crowded in to the entryway to bundle up. As Logan pulled Veronica's beanie onto her head for her, she whispered to him, "If we have kids, they will not be raised by a nanny."

He glanced down at Kensley and replied, "Of course not. I lived that life remember."

Veronica nodded sadly and bent down to help Kensley put on her mittens. Kensley happily held Logan and Veronica's hands as they walked through the streets admiring the Christmas lights of the houses. "They're pwetty," the girl said swinging between the grownup's arms. After viewing the lights for a while, the group returned to the house for cocoa before Jessie picked up Kensley.

"So Santa is going to bring your presents here tonight," Logan explained to his niece while he helped her button her coat. "Then, Jessie and your mom will bring you over in the morning to open them. Does that sound good?"

Kensley nodded. "I love you Uncle Logan," she said sweetly, wrapping her small arms around his neck.

"I love you too, munchkin," he replied as Jessie led her from the house.

Veronica came up and wrapped her arms around him in the hallway. "Turns out, family," he stated, "not such a bad thing." Turning around so he was facing her, he said, "We need to have kids."

"Okay," Veronica replied.

"I mean it," Logan asserted.

"I know. But for now, lets go hang out with everyone in the living room. Mac and Kevin decided they had too much additive in their cocoa. They are staying on the blowup in the office," she explained as they walked hand in hand into the living room.

"Good thing I actually cleaned," Logan said with a smirk. Logan flopped into an armchair and pulled Veronica down so she was sitting on the arm of it.

"So Logan I mean this in the nicest way possible," Mac said, "but how on earth did your sister, who admittedly I don't know that well, have such a sweet child?"

"Speaking as someone who was raised that way, as long as the children are still being raised by a nanny, they are generally pretty sweet," Logan replied.

"How true," Veronica added, "you didn't turn into an ass until high school. It all becomes clear," she said and grinned at him.

"You think you're so clever Mars," he replied pulling her from the arm of the chair into his lap. He glanced quickly at Keith, but finding the older man laughing, continued to hold Veronica in his lap.

"So since everyone is crashing here, who needs another beverage?" Veronica asked. "Plus we need to stick the gifts from Santa under the tree."

"I'll do gifts; you do drinks," Logan replied letting her up.

* * *

Logan woke to Veronica stretching next to him the following morning. "Alarm is going to go off soon," she murmured.

"We're just doing leftovers from yesterday for breakfast right?" Logan asked with a yawn.

"Yeah, plus bagels and cream cheese," Veronica responded.

"Ahhh," Logan yawned stretching. "I forgot, Merry Christmas." He rolled on his side to face Veronica.

She mirrored his action and replied, "Merry Christmas." He snaked his arms around her waist pulling her to him and kissing her deeply. "Mmm, we should get up. We have guests."

"They know where the coffee pot is," Logan replied kissing Veronica again. "But, if you insist." He rolled out of bed and pulled her up with him. He pulled on pajama pants and a sweatshirt. "I'll go start the coffee."

Everyone was downstairs within fifteen minutes and already into the second pot of coffee when Trina, Kensley, and Jessie arrived.

"Here Brother," Trina said, "They were giving these out at the hotel. I thought you could hang it in your doorway." She handed him a sprig of mistletoe. Logan smirked at it mischievously.

"Thanks sis," he said looping the ribbon over a nail already in the molding of the doorway to the dining room. "Oh Veronica, Sugarpuss, I need your help," he called.

"Don't call me that," Veronica said rolling her eyes. Once she was just standing in front of him, he pointed up. Veronica followed his indication with her eyes. She laughed. As he pulled her in to kiss her, she whispered, "Like you've ever needed an excuse."

Logan stopped and just stared at her for a minute as everything around them seemed to disappear, until Kensley said, "Kiss now."

Logan and Veronica laughed before kissing rather chastely, now that they were well aware they had the attention of a three year old.

After releasing Veronica, Logan leaned down and kissed Kensley on the cheek. "You ready to open presents?" he asked excitedly, as the little girl nodded and bounced.

With plates of bagels and fruit and cups of coffee, the adults sat around as Kensley looked through the pile of gifts. "Mommy, does this one say my name?" she asked Trina, who was sitting near her.

"It sure does, baby," Trina replied with a smile at her daughter. Kensley grinned and tore into the present.

After Kensley had opened a few of her gifts and was distracted playing with a doll, which Veronica suspected cost nearly her whole months' salary, the adults began to exchange some gifts. Trina's gifts shocked everyone at the extravagance.

After gifts were exchanged, the rest of the afternoon was spent in leisurely activities. Logan read Kensley a book he and Veronica had gotten her. He played cards with Keith. Veronica, Mac, and Linda decorated sugar cookies with Kensley. Mainly, they all sat around and talked while Kensley played with her numerous gifts.

In the afternoon, Trina approached Veronica. "He won't talk to me," she said in a discouraged tone. "Not about anything serious."

Veronica sighed. She glanced at where Logan and Kevin were deep in conversation about something. "Trina," she replied. "It might take awhile. He had a hard time after everything with your dad, and well everything…" She pursed her lips. "And you kind of just disappeared after that."

"I know," Trina said. "It was just hard to handle."

"I get it, but…" Veronica stopped herself. "I think because of that, you need to make more of an effort now. He isn't going to make it easy for you. Believe me."

Trina took a deep breath. As Kevin stood up from where he was talking to Logan and moved to sit with his wife, Trina went over and took his place. Veronica sat down on the floor next to where Kensley was coloring in a coloring book Mac had given her. She could tell Trina was slightly annoyed that the $10 gifts were getting more attention that the $1000 ones. As Veronica sat down, she glanced at Logan and Trina, who had begun to talk.

"Logan," Trina began, "I…" She sighed. "I want to apologize for disappearing after everything that happened."

"It's not necessary Trina," Logan replied. "I understand. It was a tough time." He sighed and looked at Veronica, who tilted her head in encouragement. "I guess I just don't understand why it took ten years for you to contact me. I mean, I sent you a birthday card every year. I even sent Kensley gifts after I knew she was born." He sighed again. "But you never called or contacted me except that one time."

Trina sighed. "Well, you had moved on. And your life was so very different from what we grew up with; I guess I just didn't understand." She looked around. "I still don't Logan, with everything you have, why do you live here? Why do you live like this?"

Logan quietly laughed, but there was a slight bitterness in his tone. "Trina, that life wasn't the same for me. When I think about having kids," he said, his sight drifting to Kensley, "I don't want them to live the way we did."

Trina shook her head. "Why not Logan? If you can offer it to them, why wouldn't you?"

"One, because it made me a spoiled brat for a lot of my adolescence. Two, because when I look back at our childhood I don't just see the glamour and luxuries, at least not the way you do. I see those as something that hid the awful truth of my life, our life. I don't think about the car I got when I turned sixteen as a gift from Aaron; I see him hitting me with his belt when I scratched the edge of the gate backing out the first time." Logan sighed. "I know you never believed me Trina, but it doesn't make it less true."

Trina didn't respond, so Logan continued. "So I live this way because it is different from what I knew. It isn't like I'm lacking here. We have a nice house and plenty of nice things."

"It just seems like you gave up your life for something less to me. Maybe if I could understand better, we would have a different relationship," Trina finally admitted. "I just don't see how you can be happy like this, after what we grew up with. But Logan, I want a relationship with you. I realized after getting divorced that I haven't really had a family in years, aside from Kensley of course. I'm just not sure how I fit in to the way of life you have now."

"Trina," Logan explained, "You're my sister and I love you. And I would love to have a consistent relationship with my niece, but it's up to you. I'm not going to change my lifestyle because it makes you uncomfortable. I have the life I want. Whatever I gave up for it didn't feel like a sacrifice. I'm happy; finally after everything in my life, I'm happy. And, the only thing I need, I have. Veronica is my world. She is my family now."

Veronica smiled and ran her hand softly over the ring at her neck. She closed her eyes and pictured images in her mind from the day. Some of them were stored on the memory card of her camera as well, but most didn't need to be. She would remember them anyway. She could see Logan reading Kensley the book they had bought her. She saw him playing cards with her father, and putting on paper crowns from party poppers with Mac. She saw the look in his eye when he pulled her close to him under the mistletoe.

Then suddenly other images ran through her mind: him kneeling in front of her asking her to marry him, his face at her hospital beside, him grinning at her when he gave her Taser for Christmas exactly a year before, and the look on his face when she had finally told him she loved him.

And still other images: him grinning at her across the grassy courtyard when they graduated from Hearst, his face in the food court as he whipped blood onto his shirt as Gory Sorokin lay bleeding between them, him looking down at her in the parking garage on campus and pulling her into his arms, him dodging a bullet on the roof of the Neptune Grande, and finally him looking at her pensively on the balcony of the Camelot as he asked if she was okay.

Veronica opened her eyes and found Logan staring at her. She smiled, and he returned it. Slowly, she reached up and unclasped the chain around her neck. Logan watched intently as she slipped the ring from the chain and put it securely on her left ring finger. "Yeah?" he mouthed to her. When she nodded in return, the smile on his face grew to a grin.

She sighed and looked at the friends and family around the room. She held her hand out, and Logan stood and pulled her up from the floor. Grasping his hand as if it were a lifeline, she said, "Everyone, we, uh, have an announcement to make."

* * *

_There it is. I have considered an epilogue, so one may come later on. _


End file.
